Ask someone who’s been hurt in a car accident what the worst part was, and the answer usually isn’t the crash. It’s the six weeks after.
The paycheck stops but the bills don’t. The co-pays pile up on the kitchen counter next to the mortgage statement. Eventually, there’s a moment in the grocery store checkout line when the math just stops working.
Our team at GriffithLaw sees that moment more often than most people would guess. Plenty of hardworking Middle Tennessee families aren’t one bad decision away from going hungry… they’re one bad day away. One driver who ran a red light; one wet floor nobody bothered to mop up; one layoff, dog bite, diagnosis, or storm.
That’s why, from October 19 through November 13, GriffithLaw is hosting a food drive to benefit One Generation Away, a Middle Tennessee nonprofit that’s been feeding bellies and souls since 2013.
The Quick Details
- When: Monday, October 19 – Friday, November 13
- What: Non-perishable food items
- Where: GriffithLaw’s Franklin office at 114 Cool Springs Blvd.
- Questions? Call us at 615-806-6535
The Strange Thing About Hunger in the United States
There’s enough food. There’s actually more than enough!
Everyday, grocery stores pull perfectly good products off the shelves. Restaurants and caterers end the night with trays nobody touched. And most home pantries have at least one can of artichoke hearts bought for a recipe that never happened, getting closer to its expiration date every day.
A lot of it all ends up in a dumpster, a few miles from a parent skipping dinner so the kids can eat.
Hunger is actually less of a supply problem and more of a logistical problem. That’s where our friends at One Generation Away provide a solution.
OneGenAway (as most people call it) rescues high-quality surplus food from grocery stores, farms, and caterers, then gets it into the hands of of individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.
“No Questions Asked” Is the Whole Point of This Food Drive
One detail we love about OneGenAway is worth calling out: At their mobile pantry, anyone is welcome. No paperwork or proving how bad things have gotten. Folks just pull right up and receive their food.
Their mission is to share hope, honor, and dignity through food. That’s a mission we take seriously here at our firm, too. We share their belief that dignity is built into every human being. It’s just that, sometimes, circumstances leave people feeling like theirs has been stripped away.
Anyone who has sat across the table from an injured client knows exactly what someone faces while waiting on an insurance company to do the right thing. Sometimes the waiting is long, but a full pantry makes it survivable.
How to Think Through Your Donations
Shelf staples are the steady part that keeps food pantries stable. They’re the protein, grains, and basics that turn a bin of produce into actual meals, and they keep for months while fresh food comes and goes.
Anybody can clean out the back of their pantry (and while that can help, nobody needs a can of cranberry sauce from 2019. Really.) Here’s how to make your bag of donations count:
- Look for pop-top lids. Not everyone has a can opener. Families living in motels, in cars, or displaced after a disaster often don’t. A pull-tab makes a can of soup a meal instead of a problem.
- Prioritize protein. Canned tuna, chicken, and salmon. Peanut butter in plastic jars. These are expensive items families cut first when money gets tight.
- Skip the glass. Jars break easily in transit and take everything around them down, too.
- Check the dates. If it’s expired, it’s trash, not a donation.
- Don’t forget breakfast. Low-sugar cereal, oatmeal, and shelf-stable milk help kids start school days on full stomachs.
Want to make it a family thing? Hand the kids a budget at the grocery store and let them build a few complete meals! It’s a surprisingly good lesson in what food actually costs, and may plant the seed to help them think beyond themselves.
Why Now, and Why It Matters Beyond November 13
Most food drives pile up around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but hunger doesn’t keep a calendar. By wrapping up this food drive on November 13 — World Kindness Day — this drive gets donations to OneGenAway before the holiday rush, when need tends to grow.
And if this drive sparks something, don’t let it stop there. OneGenAway relies on volunteers to keep its Mobile Pantry running and welcomes volunteers year-round.
Drop Off A Bag. It Matters More Than It Looks.
A few cans in our lobby won’t look like much. But to a family that just found out the next paycheck is weeks away, they look a lot like breathing room.
Grab some non-perishables on your next grocery run and drop them off at our Franklin GriffithLaw office between October 19 and November 13.
