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Ms. Cheap: Hoping this Penny Drive will help feed a lot of people




The Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank will be held Dec. 1-31. Donate your loose change (and dollar bills also). The event has raised more than $2 million in its 13 years./mainstreet-nashville

The Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank will be held Dec. 1-31. Donate your loose change (and dollar bills also). The event has raised more than $2 million in its 13 years./mainstreet-nashville

The 14th annual Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank is off and running.

The drive, which offers an easy way for individuals, families, children, schools, churches, clubs, scout troops, offices and more, to donate anything from their loose pennies to dollars and checks, to help the food bank feed hungry people in Middle Tennessee.

The drive, which has raised more than $2 million in its 13 years, is sponsored by Main Street Media, NewsChannel5, Pinnacle Financial and Wilson Bank & Trust.

With inflation and increased pressures on family budgets, the need has never been greater.

“The holidays are a difficult time of year for those struggling with hunger, and with inflation and rising costs this year is especially challenging,” said Nancy Keil, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

“For many families, it only takes one missed paycheck or one unexpected bill before they are forced to make the difficult decision between necessities like food and rent. During this holiday season, we are seeing more people than ever turn to Second Harvest for support, so they don’t have to make that impossible choice,” Keil said.

If you donate, you get a lot of bang for your buck because Second Harvest can provide four meals for every dollar donated. Second Harvest officials explained that that equation may soon be under pressure.

“The volume of donated food we distribute within our service area is much greater in proportion relative to the amount of purchased food we distribute. Because donated food does not have a cost, our overall food costs are not as influenced by inflation. However, a growing concern over the past few months is that our food donations have been declining, causing us to look at a variety of ways to supplement that gap with purchased food which will impact the cost to provide a meal in the future,” she said.

In addition to drives at schools including Battleground Academy Middle School, the Episcopal School of Nashville and Belle Meade Childrens’ Center, families at Christ Church Cathedral, and many offices such as Bass, Berry & Sims and MPF Strategic Communications, have been perennial participants, raising thousands of dollars.

This year, we are hoping more groups will join us in this important work in any way they can. Check the website for more ideas and information about the drive: secondharvestmidtn.org/pennydrive.

Did you know?

In Middle and West Tennessee, one in eight people, including one in seven children, are at risk of hunger, meaning that they don’t know when or where their next meal will come from.

Second Harvest is able to provide four meals for every $1 donated. That means that the $2 million raised over the years by the Penny Drive has provided more than eight million meals to hungry Middle Tennesseans.

Mary Hance, who has four decades of journalism experience in the Nashville area, writes a weekly Ms. Cheap column. She also appears on Thursdays on Talk of the Town on NewsChannel5. Reach her at mscheap@mainstreetmediatn.com and follow her on Facebook as Facebook.com/mscheap

Raises money for Second Harvest Food Bank. The Penny Drive takes place Dec. 1-31 and donations will be accepted at branches of Pinnacle Financial Partners and Wilson Bank & Trust. Donation cans to put in homes and businesses and churches and other places are available at branches of the two banks.

Donations can also be made online through shfbmt.convio.net/goto/pennydonations2022

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