Feeling the Love

As we celebrate our 45 years of business, we wanted to find ways to give back and work with four charities throughout the year. Our first organization was The Love Kitchen and we had a blast…oh yeah, we did work too!

Speaking of celebrating many years in operation, this February 14^th marks The Love Kitchen’s 32^nd year of obediently serving our Knoxville community. In 1986, Helen and Ellen Turner, twin sisters, began the Love Kitchen and first served 22 people in a small church in east Knoxville. Today, the Love Kitchen has its own building about two blocks from where it started and serves over 3,000 meals each week with more than eighty percent of those meals being delivered to home bound recipients. Every Wednesday there is an in-house breakfast and emergency food bags filled with both canned and dry goods are distributed. Thursdays, an in-house lunch is served and volunteers deliver meals to the elderly, disabled, and home bound.

This past Thursday February 22nd, we had two groups of DeRoyal volunteers help to sort, package and prepare those 3,000 meals for delivery as well as serve until the afternoon. We were quick learners and jumped in fast actually finishing up our duties in record time! Or maybe that’s what The Love Kitchen folks tell everyone—either way it was a win win for everyone and a fulfilling way to serve our community.

Sadly the beloved remaining sister and co-founder of the Love Kitchen, Helen Ashe died at age 89, just a week earlier on February 13th, a day before their anniversary and the most celebrated day of love—maybe it's a touching sign to remind us each year of the power of love.

We wanted you to know about the love and generosity these two sisters and their volunteers have given freely to Knoxville for 32 years! If possible please try and give of your time in service, resources or love to this Knoxville gift.