KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For many families, the holidays are a time to gather around a table stocked with food of all kinds. But for many other families, it may be hard to find a suitable meal around the holidays.
The Empty Stocking Fund, a Knoxville nonprofit, is filling stockings with food, hoping to help people in the community eat their fill during the holidays. On Saturday, they gave families baskets of free food from the Jacob Building with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers.
Officials said there are around 40 items per basket and they serve around 2,500 people every year. Each basket costs around $100 to prepare and can feed a family of four over a week, officials said.
Baskets included foods like canned soup, ham and bread. Families showed up despite the rain, hoping to pick up a basket from volunteers eager to help.
"It not only makes an impact for the community, but it's very fulfilling for you as a person," said Rachel Witt, a volunteer who worked with the Empty Stocking Fund for more than a decade.
Saturday was the final distribution day, and the organization said it hoped to provide more than 3,500 baskets of food next year.
The nonprofit started when a group of Knoxville citizens proposed a project to feed needy families on Christmas in 1912. More than a century later, the Empty Stocking Fund still gives food to people who may not have anywhere else to go for it.