How to Donate or Volunteer with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee

Updated

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee accepts support in three main ways: a direct online donation through its "Donate Now" link, volunteer time, and participation in events or awareness campaigns such as Hunger Action Month. The organization states that gifts "help provide meals & hope to our Northeast Tennessee neighbors experiencing hunger," and its site reports 27,048 volunteer hours and 13,509,920 pounds of total annual food distribution. The food bank serves eight counties — Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington — and reports serving 92,000 people annually (unduplicated). If you want to give money, give time, or both, the sections below cover what each path involves and what to check before you commit.

Donating Money

The site's primary giving entry point is the Donate Now link under "Make A Gift." The stated purpose is direct: your gift helps provide meals and hope to neighbors experiencing hunger in Northeast Tennessee.

What the site does not specify is the donation form's payment methods, preset amounts, or whether recurring gifts are offered. Because of that, treat the following as a checklist rather than a set of confirmed options:

  • Open the Donate Now link from the homepage and read the form before entering any information.
  • Check whether you can designate your gift (for example, to programs, infrastructure, or agency partnerships) or whether it is unrestricted.
  • Look for a confirmation or receipt step, since you will likely want it for tax records.
  • If you prefer to give by mail or phone, check the site's contact page — the homepage excerpt does not list those methods.

One signal that larger institutional gifts matter to the organization: the site announces a $310,000 donation from Publix Charities (dated September 22, 2026) supporting "the food bank's programs, infrastructure, and agency partnerships." That tells you donations are used across operations, not only for immediate food purchases, but the site does not break down percentages.

Volunteering Your Time

The site reports 27,048 volunteer hours, which confirms that volunteers are an active part of operations. It does not, however, publish a volunteer sign-up form, shift schedule, or age requirements on the homepage content available here.

To actually get scheduled, expect to need these steps:

  1. Find the "Get Involved" section of the site and look for a volunteer or individual-giving page.
  2. Look for any application, orientation, or background-check requirement before your first shift.
  3. Ask about shift lengths, group vs. individual slots, and whether you need to bring anything.
  4. Confirm the location — the food bank is based in Kingsport, TN, per its news datelines, but distribution and volunteer work may happen elsewhere.

If the site does not clearly list volunteer openings, use its contact information to ask directly. That is faster than guessing at a process the site does not describe.

Events and Campaigns

Events are described on the site as "our primary way to raise awareness about hunger in our region as well as raise funds," so they function as both a giving and a participation channel.

  • Hunger Action Month (September): the site invites the community to "Play Your Part This September" and "take action to help end hunger in our community."
  • 9/11 Unite For Good — Drive By, Drop Off: a drop-off event tied to the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, inviting the community to come together and see how Second Harvest fights hunger.
  • Upcoming Events page: the site points to a "View Events" link, which is where current dates and formats would be listed.

Because events change, check the events page rather than relying on any single listing.

Which Option Fits You

If you want to… Best fit What to verify first
Give money with minimal effort Donate Now Payment methods, receipt, whether gifts can be designated
Give time regularly Volunteer Application steps, shift times, location, any screening
Support with food or goods Drive-by drop-off / events Accepted items, drop-off times, location
Raise awareness Hunger Action Month or events Current campaign dates and how to participate

Before You Commit

  • Confirm the county you are in is one of the eight served: Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, or Washington.
  • Check the current events page, since the homepage highlights are time-bound.
  • Use the site's contact details for anything the site does not state — donation methods, volunteer onboarding, or in-kind donations.
  • If you are donating goods rather than money, confirm what is accepted; the site does not list item restrictions in the content available here.

The organization has operated since 1986 with the stated vision of "A Hunger-Free Northeast Tennessee," so both one-time and ongoing support have a clear destination. The main gap to close on your own is the operational detail — forms, schedules, and accepted items — which lives on the site's linked pages rather than the homepage.