10/23/2026
I have struggled to find the words to write this post. Not because I don’t know what to say, but because there is so much I want the people of Anderson County to understand.
Before I share some difficult news, I want to tell you a little story about this agency. A story that began more than 40 years ago. I was once one of the people who walked through these doors needing help.
When I was just 18 years old, I was working a minimum-wage job and doing everything I could to make ends meet. It was the 1980s, and jobs in Anderson County were scarce. Finding one job was difficult enough, much less finding a second one. One particularly cold winter, my utility bill was more than I could afford. I was working 40 hours per week and I was trying. But I simply didn’t have the money to pay it. I am someone who started babysitting at the age of 12, because I knew I had to work. I am the person who always had money stashed away and friends would come borrow from.
So when Oak Ridge Utilities gave me a referral, I did something that wasn’t easy for me. I walked into what was then the Anderson County Community Action Commission and asked for help. That day, a woman named Susan Bowling helped me with my utility bill. But what happened next would change the direction of my life.
I remember asking Susan if she knew where I might find another job. I told her I was desperate to work and willing to do just about anything. She was so kind and said she would be on the lookout for me any open jobs. I hounded that poor woman until she finally offered me a job at the very agency that helped me. I worked alongside Susan for almost a year before accepting a position at Y-12.
While working at Y-12, I completed my degree in social work. Although my career eventually took me in other directions and I only used that degree briefly, I never forgot the little agency that had helped me when I needed it most. I never forgot Susan Bowling, I never forgot that little agency and most importantly, I never forgot what it felt like to have someone see beyond my circumstances and give me an opportunity. Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can change the entire direction of someone’s life. It certainly changed mine.
Then, in November 2023, I was asked to become the part-time Executive Director of the very agency that had once helped me. It felt like coming home. New building, new faces, but a place I wanted to be. A place I could serve others.
Unfortunately, what I walked into in November 2023 was not the agency I left in the 80s. It aaa an agency that was barely hanging on.
I want to be very clear about something concerning the condition of this agency when I arrived. Almost immediately after I became Executive Director, I was approached by representatives of the state and advised that so much damage had already been done to the agency’s standing that they were planning to withdraw our federal grant funding.
This was not something that happened overnight. These were issues that existed long before I arrived. There was a brand new board and neither them nor I, been part of the previous administration. I had not made those decisions. I had not been involved in the circumstances that led us to that point. And we certainly could not go back and change them. We couldn’t answer for the past, and I we weren’t going to pretend that we could. But what we could do was work alongside our staff to make positive changes, rebuild trust, and soldier on.
And that is exactly what we did.
We weren’t interested in spending our days dwelling on things we could not change. We wanted to focus on the people who were walking through our doors and what we could do to make their lives a little easier. We believed that if we worked hard enough, made positive changes, and demonstrated that our agency was genuinely serving the community, perhaps we could build something worth saving. And for nearly three years, that is what we tried to do.
I also want to address the public criticism and statements made by Mayor Terry Frank concerning our agency.
I understand that there has been controversy surrounding the agency, its history, its funding, and decisions made in years past. But it’s important that for public to understand that the historical matters raised in that criticism involved events long before my arrival. I was not there. I have no firsthand knowledge of why those decisions were made, what conversations took place, or what circumstances led to them. It would be irresponsible for me to pretend otherwise. I cannot answer for people who held positions before me, just as I cannot undo decisions that were made long before November 2023. I can only speak for the work I have personally done and the direction our board, staff, and I have worked to take this agency.
When public criticism was directed toward our organization, it was heartbreaking because I knew how hard our staff and volunteers were working and how many families were depending on us.
I respect that elected officials have a responsibility to ask questions and address concerns about public funding. But I also believe that the people doing the work today deserve to be evaluated fairly for the work they have actually done. We did not create the problems we inherited. But we refused to allow those problems to stop us from helping people while we still had the ability to do so. And I will never apologize for that.
When I arrived, much of our assistance was focused on paying utility bills, rent, and housing expenses for approximately 40 individuals each month. Some of those individuals were also receiving assistance from other agencies. We have multiple agencies in Anderson County paying utility paying utility bills daily…we did not need to continue being part of that circle.
Our staff, our board, and I began having conversations about the direction of our agency and how we could make the greatest impact with the limited resources available to us.
We began asking ourselves some important questions.
Could we reach more families?
Could we help more seniors?
Could we provide assistance that would benefit entire households rather than just a limited number of individuals each month?
We believed we could. And together, we began changing the direction of our agency. We wanted to help the grandmother raising her grandchildren on a fixed income. We wanted to help the elderly gentleman choosing between groceries and prescriptions. We wanted to help working parents who were doing everything they could but still struggling to put food on the table. We wanted to help the father who had been laid off and was doing everything possible to keep his family afloat. And we wanted to help families who had never needed assistance before but suddenly found themselves facing circumstances beyond their control. Most importantly, we wanted to create an agency where people felt welcomed, respected, and never ashamed of needing a helping hand.
Together, we believed we could reach more people by expanding our services to focus on food and basic necessities. We wanted our agency to serve the many, not just the few.
Our vision became a safe, welcoming place where families could come in out of the heat, cold, or rain and shop for the basic necessities they needed. We wanted it to feel less like an assistance office and more like a little community shopping facility.
We wanted people to feel comfortable walking through our doors. We wanted them to know that their circumstances did not define them. And we wanted every person who visited us to leave knowing that someone genuinely cared.
I made it a personal priority to be out of my office greeting our clients, listening to their stories, and learning about their needs. But behind the scenes, our staff and board were working together to make our shared vision possible. We began strengthening our relationship with Second Harvest Food Bank and developing partnerships throughout the community. What started as picking up food from one location twice a week grew into pickups from five locations, four days a week. Eventually, Second Harvest began blessing us with additional food deliveries every other Friday.
And together, we gave that food away! ALL OF IT! We weren’t collecting food to let it sit in a basement. We weren’t storing donations indefinitely while families went without. The food came in, our staff worked tirelessly to organize it, and it went right back out into the homes of people who needed it.
We grew from serving approximately two dozen households a week before my arrival to helping hundreds of families, eventually reaching approximately 800 families in a month. Think about that.
Hundreds of families who could put groceries on their tables. Hundreds of households where a little financial pressure could be relieved. Hundreds of people who knew there was somewhere they could turn when times got difficult. And we are proud of that. That didn’t happen because of one person. It happened because we had a team of people who believed in what we were doing.
Our board supported the changes. Our staff carried out the work. Our volunteers gave their time. Our donors and community partners provided resources we could never have afforded on our own. And together, we built something that made a meaningful difference in Anderson County.
I may have been the Executive Director, but this was never my accomplishment alone. I had the vision BUT it was OUR accomplishment. And I could not be prouder of the people who helped make it happen. The ones who have worked for me since 2023, and the ones who are still trudging along.
Speaking of staff.
These incredible individuals have worked for penny’s. They lift, load, unload, sort, stock shelves, organize donations, operate our vehicles, and serve our clients day after day. It is physically demanding and exhausting work. They work through the summer heat and winter cold. They have families of their own, bills of their own, and struggles of their own. Yet they continue showing up because they care about the people we serve. They have never been here for the money. And I cannot begin to express how proud I am of them.
I also want people to understand that I did not come into this agency looking for a paycheck. I worked without pay for almost a year.
Eventually, I began receiving $1,600 per month because, like everyone else, I have bills to pay. Driving from Karns to Clinton every day was taking a toll on our personal finances. I couldn’t continue to take out of my savings to pay our bills. My husband was injured and forced to retire ten years earlier than we had planned. We know firsthand what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under you.
Maybe that is another reason this work has always been so personal to me. I never wanted people to feel ashamed for needing help. Because sometimes the difference between being able to pay your bills and needing assistance is one injury, one illness, one lost job, or one unexpected expense. And none of us are immune to that.
So many mornings, before we opened our doors, I would walk through our building and pray. I prayed for every person who would enter that day. I prayed that they would feel loved and feel safe. That God would make sure I treated with dignity and respect. I prayed for our staff because I knew they were giving so much of themselves while carrying burdens of their own. And I prayed that God would continue providing the resources we needed to help the people who depended on us.
Whether you believe in prayer or not, I hope you believe this:
Our hearts have been in this agency 100%, and they still are. Every single one of us loves our clients and the people of Anderson County immensely. And that brings me to the part of this message that I never wanted to write.
After over 6 decades of serving Anderson County, our agency simply can no longer sustain the financial demands of keeping our doors open.
The federal funding that previously supported the agency was awarded to another partner because the food pantry services we had prioritized did not fall within the eligible activities of that particular grant.
When our board, staff, and I began focusing more heavily on food and basic necessities, we understood that we were moving away from some of the services traditionally supported by that funding but we could not stop serving hundreds to serve only 20-30.
While we have amazing donors, and my willingness to not take a salary any longer, our monthly rent is a significant expense. Our utility bills run nearly $600 each month. We have insurance costs, vehicle expenses, maintenance, and the cost of employing staff who are required to operate our vehicles and perform the physically demanding work of collecting and distributing food. We have to pay those employees. They deserve to be paid.
Together, we have stretched every dollar. We have relied on donations, community partnerships, volunteers, and the generosity of people who believed in our mission. We have explored our options and tried to find a way to remain open. But we have reached the point where there simply isn’t enough money to continue operating responsibly.
This agency is not closing because the need has disappeared. Quite the opposite. The need is greater than ever. Blessing Boxes are amazing asset to our community but they do not feed families. We are closing because the financial resources needed to meet that need are no longer available. We wish with everything in us that we had a different answer.
I also want the people of Anderson County to understand that the closure of this agency does not erase the work that has been accomplished here. Whatever happened before my arrival, whatever disagreements have taken place, and whatever criticism has been directed toward this organization, none of that changes the fact that thousands of people have been helped over the years. None of it changes the dedication of our staff or changes the generosity of our donors. And none of it changes the gratitude of the families who have received assistance. Our agency’s history may not have been perfect. But the people we served deserved our very best, and that is what we tried to give them.
To Second Harvest Food Bank, thank you for believing in our efforts and providing so much food for our community.
To our donors, thank you for every dollar, every bag of groceries, every household item, every load of firewood, and every act of generosity.
To our volunteers, thank you for giving something that money cannot buy: your time.
To our community partners, thank you for standing beside us.
To our board, thank you for supporting our vision and helping us navigate the difficult decisions that came with trying to sustain this agency.
And to our staff, I hope you know how much you mean to me. You have worked tirelessly, often with very little recognition, because you believed in what we were doing. I could not have asked for a better group of people to serve alongside. Every single one of you helped make our vision a reality.
And finally, to the residents of Anderson County: THANK YOU.
Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for allowing us to serve you. Thank you for sharing your struggles, your stories, your tears, and your victories. Thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your lives. You were never just a number walking through our doors. You were the reason those doors opened every morning. Nobody is more saddened by this decision than those of us who have poured our hearts into this little agency.
And now, as I sit here writing these words, I cannot help but think about that 18-year-old girl who working hard but had to walk through these same doors all those years ago. She was struggling and scared. That day an amazing woman named Susan Bowling did more than pay that bill. She gave me an opportunity that helped me discover what God called me to do.
I am grateful for the time I have spent with each of you.
Tammy Crowe
Executive Director
Anderson County Community Aid Coalition
[email protected]
865-964-9166
