It's here: new Food as a Verb merch!

Hats and t-shirts, all new, all in time for Thanksgiving!

Next week, we'll be at the Main Street Farmers' Market during the Thanksgiving market on Tuesday — not Wednesday — beginning at 4 pm.

We have new trucker hats, soft like you've worn them for years.

New t-shirts — equally yummy-soft — with a fabulous Alex Dehart design that tells the world: we love farmers!

Plus, our old favorites: the original Food as a Verb blue + cream t-shirts.

We unveiled these at our Cherry St. Tavern party in September. Now, we're going public.

(They look good on the streets. Here's our friend Jesse Carlton, right before his pickleball tourney; yep, he won a medal that day in Dayton.)

We'd love to see you next Tuesday, Nov. 25, from 4 to 5.30 pm, at the Main Street Farmers' Thanksgiving Market.

• Earlier this month, we reported on the deepening crisis regionally, as more people encounter daily lives with less food.

(This Sunday, our story continues this reporting.)

"We went through ... a week's worth of produce in one day in the food pantry and saw a week's worth of clients in one day," said Damon Bartos, farm manager at The Bethlehem Center in Alton Park.

Within days, the Beth would run out of food, he said.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said.

Then, you all got involved.

Within days, you sent the Beth's food pantry a most generous boost, which helped feed so many people across the city.

"Food as a Verb donations ... for the pantry were $5,000!" Damon said.

More good news: the week prior, we reported on Sydney Guerrette's Empty Bowls fundraiser, which seeks to eliminate the troubling $ in school meal debt.

Families accrue ongoing debt; once $40 is reached, high school students can no longer charge meals.

As of late October, the debt across Hamilton County schools was more than $30,000.

Last week, she held an Empty Bowls fundraiser while also offering a way to donate without purchasing a ticket.

So many of you responded.

This week, thanks to your help, she's delivering a $30,000 check to Hamilton County schools that nearly wipes out all that debt.

We've said it so many times before:

We are so grateful for you.

The difference your engagement makes in this region is tangible, impactful and often life-changing.

• Speaking of gratitude, one of our favorite meals of the year happens this Thursday.

The 10th annual Gratefull lunch brings together thousands of Chattanoogans around the longest, loveliest table of the year. Organizers close down MLK Boulevard, with 100s of volunteers serving home-cooked Thanksgiving lunch.

The lunch begins at 11.30 am.

• Tickets remain for our "Real Smoke: a Brief History of Barbecue" event on Thursday, Dec. 4.

Join UTC professor and food historian Dr. Mark Johnson as he tells the stories of Southern barbecue, which dates back way, way into our past.

Chef Erik Niel, founder of the Michelin-award-winning Little Coyote, will join him to discuss the impact and influence of barbecue.

Dr. Johnson's the author of a history of Alabama barbecue and the forthcoming American Bacon.

The event begins at 4.30 pm on Thursday, Dec. 4 at Little Coyote.

Tickets can be reserved here.

• Finally, our reporting continues this Sunday, as we take you inside one of the most critically important places in the region.

Our deepening food crisis?

This is where problems are solved. This is where the emergency finds a response.

You'll meet the three-person team working to feed tens of thousands of people each year.

Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com

This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.

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