For 40 years, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee has worked alongside our community to help ensure our neighbors have access to the food they need. What began in 1986 has grown and changed over four decades, but our purpose has remained the same: serving Northeast Tennessee and working toward a future where no one has to worry about their next meal.
Take a look back at some of the moments that shaped our first 40 years.
1986–1989 | Where It All Began
- 1986: Mary Lou Reynolds founded the Tri-Cities Food Bank to support local hunger-relief agencies. 86,000 pounds of food were distributed in the first year.
- The food bank received a donated truck from the Junior League of Kingsport, and the Regional Junior League Food Drive was established.
- Operations were based at St. John’s Episcopal Church with food storage at the Johnson City Salvation Army warehouse.
- The food bank began operating out of the Bell Ridge School in Kingsport.
- 1986: Tim Davis was hired as the first employee.
- 1989: Annual food distribution surpassed 600,000 pounds.
1990s | Growing Our Reach
- 1990: Food Bank relocated to Elizabethton.
- 1991: Organization became part of the National Food Bank Network and was renamed Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee.
- 1993: Rhonda Chafin was hired as Executive Director and operated with a $300,000 budget.
- 1994: Achieved certification from Second Harvest as a certified Food Bank.
- 1997-1998: Capital campaign funded the construction of a new 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Gray, Tennessee.
- 1999: Expanded services with Second Helpings and Kids Cafe programs.
- A refrigerated box truck was donated by Kraft Foods for the Second Helpings program. ConAgra donated a cargo van for Mobile Food Bank Partner Delivery.
2000s | Expanding to Meet the Need
- 2001: Rollout began for the Food for Kids pilot program, which was operating at full scale by 2002.
- 2002: Eight Kids Cafes served meals and snacks to 1,000 children.
- Increased community support and expanded donations of perishable food from local grocers.
- 2003: Held the first Hunger Awareness Day.
- Second Helpings distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food.
- Nearly 200 partner agencies served 25,000 people monthly.
- Launched a food purchasing program to supplement food supplies.
- Adopted a new logo reflecting affiliation with Second Harvest.
- 2007: Broke ground on an 11,000-square-foot warehouse expansion, including 2,000 square feet of additional freezer space.
- 2009: The Summer Food Service pilot program began in Bristol and was operating at full scale by 2010.
2010s | Building for the Future
- 2011: Distributed 8 million pounds of food.
- 2011: Acquired former Sam’s Club building in Kingsport.
- 2013: Opened a renovated 113,000-square-foot facility, increasing storage and distribution capacity.
- 2014: Distributed 10.3 million pounds of food and served 40,000+ people monthly through 213 partner agencies.
- Expanded children’s programs, including Food for Kids, Summer Food Service, and School Pantries.
- Mobile Pantry expanded to include Mobile Produce Pantry, Senior Grocery Pantry, and Vets Feeding Vets.
- Enhanced food safety practices and updated the organization’s mission and vision.
- 2017: Senior Mobile Food Pantry was launched.
- Earned national recognition through features in National Geographic, Washington Post, TLC, and CBS Evening News.
2020s | Responding, Growing & Looking Ahead
- 2020: Food insecurity surged during the COVID pandemic. Monthly demand increased from 45,000 to 55,000 people.
- 2021: Distributed a record 16.6 million pounds of food (13.8 million meals).
- Established the Unite Us Referral Partnership with Ballad Health.
- 2023: Launched a capital campaign for a 9,360-square-foot facility expansion.
- 2024: Completed expansion, including a new Volunteer Center, Community Kitchen, volunteer breakroom/ restrooms, and operations and program offices.
- Coordinated Hurricane Helene disaster relief, providing 6.4 million pounds of emergency food assistance and recovery support across Northeast Tennessee.
- 2025: Responded to a statewide SNAP disruption with 13 emergency distributions, distributing 235,776 lbs of food.
- 2026: Executive Director Rhonda Chafin received the John van Hengel Fellowship Award for leadership and service in the fight against hunger.
2026-2036 | Investing in Our Future
- Expand access to nutritious food by bringing convenient and dignified solutions closer to the neighbors and communities we serve.
- Strengthen our network of partners by investing in agency capacity and building new relationships with farmers, growers, and retailers to increase access to fresh, nutritious, and neighbor-preferred foods.
- Connect food to health, working alongside health care and community organizations to address the broader challenges that contribute to hunger.
- Elevate the voices of our neighbors and strengthen advocacy efforts that address hunger.
- Invest in technology, data, and infrastructure to serve more efficiently, measure our impact, and build a stronger, more resilient hunger-relief network.
The next chapter starts now.
The investments we make today—in people, partnerships, innovation, and our communities—will shape how Northeast Tennessee responds to hunger for generations to come.