Hendersonville Standard
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Sumner County Food Bank to close in 2022





Pastor James Gill (left) and Downey Brawner have worked together at the Sumner County Food Bank for the last 13 years. The two are both stepping away from the non-profit in early 2022.TENA LEE/tlee@mainstreetmediatn.com

Pastor James Gill (left) and Downey Brawner have worked together at the Sumner County Food Bank for the last 13 years. The two are both stepping away from the non-profit in early 2022.TENA LEE/tlee@mainstreetmediatn.com

For the last 13 years, Pastor James Gill has made it his life’s work ensuring any Sumner County resident in need of food doesn’t go without.

Each third Tuesday at around 4 a.m., Gill pulls into the parking lot of the local food bank he founded more than a decade ago, and begins greeting those who have lined up hours before the first food box is handed out.

“I know hundreds of them,” he said.

Gill listens to their stories and often prays with them.

He admits it’s hard saying who gets more out of the interactions sometimes – those he feels compelled to serve — or the pastor himself.

“I’ve just been doing this for so long. You just don’t know what this place means to me,” he muses.

Which makes the decision Gill has made recently that much harder.

Beginning in April, the Sumner County Food Bank will close its doors for good unless it can find another organization to carry on its service to the community.

“I have been considering this for two years,” said Gill. “It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my life. The people of Sumner County and surrounding counties have been so good to us.”

Begun as a ministry of Liberty Baptist Church in Gallatin, the food bank first operated out of a 10’ x 10’ Sunday School class with 19 volunteers who helped feed 51 families. Currently around 130 volunteers help feed between 800-1,000 families each month with the more than $250,000 in annual donations.

Gill, who is also the church’s senior pastor, attributes the food bank’s success in part to the partnership he shares with Downey Brawner. A deacon at Liberty Baptist, Brawner serves as operations manager at the food bank while Gill is in charge of fundraising. Both are non-paid positions.

Gill says that as the two men both enter their 80th year, it’s time for them to step down. Brawner will undergo heart surgery later this month while Gill, who was first diagnosed with cancer in 2017, will undergo surgery to remove additional tumors in April.

“Our doctors have told us both if we don’t eliminate the stress, we won’t live another year — and our wives deserve more than that,” said Gill.

The pastor says he’s contacted 19 different churches and help agencies about running the food bank, but so far no one has agreed to take it over.

While there are local food banks in Gallatin, Hendersonville and Portland, the Sumner County Food Bank is the only one that serves the entire county.

“We serve more people with food than anyone in Sumner County,” Gill noted. “And as the population continues to grow, so too does the number of people in need.”

Hendersonville Samaritan Association Executive Director Steve Brown said the closing of the county-wide food bank will have a significant impact on those who have relied on it as a resource.

“[Mr. Gill] grew that into a pretty big deal,” said Brown. “I would like to see someone take it over.”

The Sumner County Food Bank’s next giveaway will be on Jan. 18. Gill said they will continue to distribute 100 pounds of food to each family – a 10-day supply — that arrives between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on the third Tuesday in January, February and March.

“March 18 will be our last food giveaway,” he said. “Any donations that come in after that will be returned.”

Gill also acknowledges that without the businesses, private foundations, churches, civic groups and individual donors, the last 13 years wouldn’t have been possible.

“I can’t think of the words to say thank you to all of our sponsors – all of our supporters for the fabulous job they’ve done,” he said. “Without them we couldn’t have lasted any time. They’ve just been fabulous.”

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