CAC Celebrates 40th Anniversary : Four Decades of Caring for the Greater Sewanee Community

The Community Action Committee turns 40 years old in 2014. In 1974 community members who worshiped at Otey Memorial Parish formed the CAC as an outreach ministry of the church. In the ensuing years, other local churches joined Otey to provide food and assistance to members in the Sewanee community. 

There will be a luncheon celebration to commemorate this achievement at noon, Sunday, Dec. 14, in Claiborne Parish Hall at Otey. All are welcome to attend.

From the beginning of CAC, the first Sunday of the month was designated Pantry Sunday. Church members were asked to bring canned goods so that groceries could be distributed once a month to the CAC clients. CAC also purchased food from Kroger to ensure that the bags of food would be nutritionally balanced. For 26 years the CAC offered groceries once a month to about 20 families. 

In 2001 CAC began its partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee in Nashville. Second Harvest is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to serve food banks and soup kitchens with high-quality food at a low cost to its partner organizations. CAC regularly orders between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds of food every two to three months. This partnership with Second Harvest continues and has proven to be CAC’s best ongoing source of non-perishable foods for clients. Pantry Sunday continues, as well, offering people the opportunity to donate food items and toiletries. Fresh produce has also been available through local gardens and from a distribution center in Winchester. 

CAC also provides assistance with utility bills, housing, education needs and dental care. CAC serves the greater Sewanee area (including Midway and Jump Off) and the Sherwood community. 

CAC is an outreach ministry of Otey Parish. It is governed by a board composed of community members, representatives of local churches, the University and the School of Theology. Partner churches include St. James Episcopal Church and Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

The Rev. Betty Carpenter is the CAC director; volunteers from across the community and area schools help keep the office open, bag groceries and assist with new projects. The University also provides the CAC with students in the Bonner Scholars Program. Community lunches, container gardens and the quilting project are programs that have recently been launched. For more information about CAC or its anniversary event call 598-5927.

—by Pixie Dozier,
Special to the Messenger