CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Supporters of Loaves and Fishes of Clarksville gathered Sunday to dedicate the organization’s new facility at 825 Crossland Ave.

Loaves & Fishes has been working out of the new building since March 1, when the last essentials were moved from the former location of Loaves & Fishes in the First Presbyterian Church Activities Center at 215 Foster Ave.

The building was dedicated and named the Geraldine B. Turner Building. Turner was honored for being an instrumental part in supporting Loaves and Fishes for more than 30 years.

Other family members support the organization to this day, including her son, local businessman Jack Turner and his sister, Jill Turner-Crow.

Tamara Long, a board officer with Loaves and Fishes, announced Sunday that since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began, Loaves and Fishes has not missed a meal for those in need.

Loaves and Fishes at Foster Street has been closed for a couple of weeks, and Long said as volunteers get settled in and they get a feel for their new neighborhood, they are inviting the community to come visit.

Long added there seem to be more families seeking food and help than they saw at the former location. Some of their same friends are coming as well, and they’ve said the new site is closer to where they live.

“We serve a wide variety of people in the community, not just homeless – like those who have jobs but just can’t quite get those extra dollars for food every month,” Long said. She added the organization expects to move quickly to begin feeding 200 people or more a day.

Long said they are currently doing a bag meal Monday through Saturday, with a double bag on Saturday that works if someone wants to hold it over for Sunday. The large bags contain a hot entrée and a cold entrée.

Anyone is welcome to come pick up a meal between their expanded hours of 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. In the near future, plans are for Loaves and Fishes to once again offer hot meals when they open their fellowship area in their new dining room.

Some of the new amenities include a state-of-the-art kitchen, a large gathering space, multi-purpose rooms for training and classes, and a resource kiosk for information on day-to-day life skills.

Loaves and Fishes continues to adhere to strict safety precautions, including masks, social distancing, hand sanitizer and contact tracing.

The organization is accepting both financial and food donations, and with the larger facility, they are also looking for more volunteers.

For information visit loavesandfishestn.org, go to their Facebook page, Loaves and Fishes of Clarksville, or call 931-648-9020.