IMPORTANT INFORMATION UPDATE

Since our Thanksgiving Food Distribution on November 19th, we have received numerous calls wondering if we still have food available, or if a box could still be picked up since the person who reserved the box could not get here on the date and time appointed. This has become a very disturbing observation to us for a couple of reasons.

First of all, we have spent many many hours trying to see that all went smoothly. We did plan the distribution by appointment only so that there was not someone left out, hoping to get a box, after spending a long time in line etc. If you called and we gave you an appointment, we expected you to be able to get here to get your box...either in your own vehicle, or by riding with another person. We feel this was not too much to expect from you. There were several of you who did not take the time to call us and let us know that you would not be here. If you did not show up, or call and say that you were not going to be here at the appointed time, or make arrangements to come at a different time, your box was given to the next person on the waiting list. This was only fair as there were many who were waiting to hear if a box might become available to them. At the end of the day, we checked over our list and called those on the waiting list, thus making some other families very happy.

If you had car trouble, or could not get here for you appointment, we tried to work with you. Some of you asked to come later that day. We were happy to help you out with rescheduling. BUT, to those who never called, but did not show up, you did lose out on your box. We expected you to be courteous and give us a call if you did not intend to be here at your appointed time.

We will be having a Christmas Distribution if we are able to get enough donations and/or food.  We require pre-registration and will tell you in advance a time to be here. We will try to work with you on the appointment time, however, when we are getting filled up, it may be necessary to schedule you without asking which time is best for you. When we can, we will give you a choice from a couple of times.

Since there was so much confusion last time, we will expect you this next time to pick up your own box. If you must ride with someone else to do so, you will need to make arrangements in advance. We will require an ID and signature from each of you. Under extreme circumstances, and for shut-ins or for elderly not having driving license etc, we will try and make a delivery to you. This decision will be made in advance of the Distribution Date and there WILL be a deadline for registration.

We certainly hope that you all understand why the rules must be in place before the next distribution date. We would love to help everyone in Cocke County and East Tennessee with food. We intend to do our very best to make everything run smoothly. We cannot promise you that all will get food, but we can promise you that we will continue to try to Feed the Multitude on Faith and a Few Loaves and Fishes, as our motto says.

We hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we want you to know that we were happy to be a part of it!

God bless!

Reverend Dick and Judy Miller