This Valentine’s Day, volunteers, employees and supporters of the Love Kitchen remember its founding on Feb. 14, 1986.
The Love Kitchen serves over 3,000 meals weekly to the people of Knoxville who are homeless, homebound, disabled and elderly. The building is kept running by donations of time and resources. Volunteerism is at the core of the original mission of the Love Kitchen. The founders of the Love Kitchen established the kitchen on the foundation of service to others and dreamed of an organization that ran solely on volunteers.
This month, prominent local figures hope to help the Love Kitchen spread some Valentine’s Day love. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs is set to deliver a donation to the Love Kitchen on Feb. 14, the 33rd anniversary of the Love Kitchen’s beginning. He will be donating a large sum of food along with a check for $2,700. Donations like these enable the Love Kitchen to keep their doors open and continue to serve the people of Knoxville who are in need.
Twin sisters from South Carolina, Helen Ashe and Ellen Turner, founded the Love Kitchen based on values and ideals instilled in them by their parents. One of their founding values, according to the Love Kitchen website, is that “there is only one race, the human race.”
The sisters were motivated to start the Love Kitchen when they heard of a soup line operating out of a church in Knoxville. They instantly knew that this would be their calling.
They also rely heavily on volunteers for the day to day operations of the organization. With positions ranging from cooking assistants to lead volunteers to servers, there is always a need for a helping hand.
Sophomore in accounting Denisha Emerson has been volunteering with the Love Kitchen since the beginning of the semester and goes whenever she is available to serve.
“I really love volunteering there. The staff is very friendly,” Emerson said about her experience with the organization.
Emerson says that she wishes she had more time to spend volunteering at the Love Kitchen because of the positive experience of volunteering at the organization.
“Seeing the smiling faces of those we serve is very rewarding and it’ll honestly make your worst day a little better,” Emerson said.
Inez Royston, the accounting specialist for the Center for Student Engagement, has been in Knoxville since the Love Kitchen itself came here. She recalls the history of the organization well and is fond of their mission and the work they do for the local community.
“I think that it is a very good service that the (Ashe/Turner) sisters did in showing their love for others,” Royston said.
Royston recalls when the Ashe and Turner sisters passed away in 2015 and 2018, respectively, and is grateful for the legacy that they left behind.
“It’s sad that (the founders) are both gone but great that their legacy is continuing. I’m sure they could use volunteers,” Royston said.
To volunteer at the Love Kitchen, go to its website.
