BELLEVUE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many people in the Middle Tennessee community are stepping up to love their neighbors right now, including a farmer in Bellevue who’s using his resources to pay it forward and provide free food to families with the uncertainty of SNAP benefits.
Shaun Daugherty, who runs S.E. Daugherty and Sons Farm said in the farming business, there are plenty of ups and downs, and Daugherty has lived through both.
“We went four or five years without making a penny,” he said. “We’re getting better at our craft and a slow uptick, and with that blessing I think I should help others whenever I can.”
Before the family farm became successful, Daugherty remembers barely getting by.
“I remember working my way through college full time and buying fast food and gas on a credit card just to survive,” he said. But someone once invested in him when he needed it most.
“A gentleman named Tom Bannen, who owned a Chevrolet dealership here in Nashville — gave me $100 one time because he heard I was having a tough time with it,” Daugherty recalled. More than two decades later, after a successful growing season, Daugherty is returning the favor.
His farm will be giving away free fresh food this Sunday to families who about to lose their SNAP benefits.
“I don’t think as a community you wait on people who are in those positions to take care of you,” he said. “I think you take care of each other.”
The farmstand will be stocked with all types off food. "We’ve got greens, sweet potatoes. I’ve called in my apple guy — I’m going to buy extra apples, our bread supplier’s buying extra bread, stuff like that,” he said.
For Daugherty, this isn’t about charity — it’s about community. “The hope is that someday you’re going to be able to do that for somebody else,” he said.
The free food giveaway will take place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Daugherty family farmstand on Highway 70 and Charlotte Pike in Bellevue.
This story was reported by reporter Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Aaron and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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