The Fresh Wagon is vibrant on an autumn morning as local Union County farmers drop off produce. Photo by: Ash Lodge
Jesus said to feed the hungry. Fresh Wagon partners follow his word in service to their community.
It’s a cold and breezy morning in Union County, Tennessee, but St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in Maynardville is lively and warm as volunteers gather together to prepare fresh produce for distribution in their community. The church is surrounded by beautiful colors as the foliage changes into varying autumn hues, but the Fresh Wagon trailer parked in the lot steals the show with its vibrant art and even more vibrant story.
“We decided these kids aren’t getting lunch, so we’d get ‘em lunch. We’ll bring them food,” says Glenmary Father Neil Pezzulo, as he recalls the Fresh Wagon’s beginnings.
Founded when the COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down and left children without access to food, the Fresh Wagon is a trailer loaded monthly with fresh produce then driven to a destination in Union County for residents to access entirely free of charge.
Watering the food desert
Unbeknownst to Father Neil, as the Fresh Wagon was being established, the American Cancer Society was conducting a study on food deserts—an area where it is harder to buy fresh food at affordable prices—and the impact living in a food desert has on one’s health. They found that not only does living in a food desert put residents at greater risk for medical conditions, but also decreases life expectancy.
Union County resides as a food desert where community members have access to very few fresh food options and only one full size grocery store in the county.
“We have made a conscious decision to respond to the food desert, the distribution issues of food. We bring healthy food, fresh food–vegetables, fruit, things you can’t get at a traditional food pantry because they have to have canned goods and boxed goods,” Father Neil informs when discussing the Fresh Wagon.
Building community
“What I’m most proud of in this whole project is this is a partnership between St. Teresa church, Union County Health Department, University of Tennessee Extension Office, the American Cancer Society, the Union County government, and with cooperation from the Union County school system,” Father Neil proudly proclaims. “We all have different starting points, but the goal is to bring fresh food to people that need it.”
Father Neil makes it known that one of his goals with the Fresh Wagon is to keep money in the community. Every month, the partners of the Fresh Wagon collaborate with local farmers.
“We wanted to be unlike other distributions where we’re able to distribute local, fresh food and support our community,” Shannon Dewitt of the University of Tennessee Extension Office says. Dewitt works with the local farmers and is proud to be able to aid in bringing fresh food to a community in need. “I didn’t know the need in our community,” she adds. “I knew it, but I didn’t fully understand it…”
In addition to providing fresh produce to the community, the Union County Health Department and government provide information on resources for programs families may be eligible to enroll in. Overall, everybody involved with the Fresh Wagon wants to help provide for their community members and aid them in accessing resources they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Addressing the need
Driving to the distribution site, Father Neil expresses a concern about the lack of calls regarding the month’s distribution. Usually, people call the church asking where the wagon will be. This time, the line is silent. Would people turn up?
Any concerns that might have been present fade away upon pulling into the parking lot. As volunteers load the Fresh Wagon’s contents into bags, a line of cars stops traffic on Main Street as they patiently wait for their turn to pick up fresh produce.
The Fresh Wagon happens the third week of each month to cater to those who may be running low on money to provide for themselves. The program also coordinates with six other food pantries in the county to ensure something is open each week so the community always has access to food. This past October the Fresh Wagon served 128 different families.
“I do this because Jesus said to feed the hungry,” Father Neil says. “The health department does it because they’re in charge of the health of the county. The school system needs healthy kids to teach.”
Regardless of why each partner of the Fresh Wagon is involved, one thing is clear: they’re working hard to address the needs of their community by being a garden amid the food desert. The partners work together to better the well-being of those they serve in the county. That means everyone.
– Laney Blevins
This story first appeared in the Winter 2023 publication of the Glenmary Challenge.