Middle Tennessee nonprofit OneGenAway plans 11th annual fundraiser, continues hunger fight

Ten years ago, Chris Whitney said he received a message from God to help eradicate poverty in the United States.

During prayer, he kept receiving the message “one generation away,” he said, noting that he believed it meant that we were one generation from eradicating hunger if everyone pitched in.

Today, Whitney and his wife, Elaine, run the nonprofit OneGenAway and have warehouses in Franklin as well as Florida and Alabama, and they believe they are close to making their dream of wiping out hunger a reality.

“We started this mission out of our car,” Chris Whitney said. “When we first started, we would carry food in boxes, but its morphed from that.”

To celebrate their successes and raise money for the future, OneGenAway will host its 11th annual Spring Breakfast fundraiser on April 19. The event will feature a guest speaker, a free breakfast and more, helping the Whitneys raise money to continue their mission.

OneGenAway works through purchases or donations.

From canned fruits and vegetables to menstrual products and toothpaste, OneGenAway's warehouses are stacked with resources that the Whitneys have either purchased or rescued from grocery stores, restaurants, caterers or farms.

But, when Chris first pitched the idea for the nonprofit to other pastors, he didn’t receive the reaction he hoped for, he said.

“It was like, crickets," he said. "I literally came home and told Elaine. I said, 'God, this must be the worst idea I've ever had in my life.'”

Despite those early feelings, Chris Whitney said he still felt called to nonprofit ministry. For him and Elaine, it was personal. They knew what it was like to be without, he said.

When their daughter was born, she required 17 expensive surgeries, and Elaine Whitney said the couple lost almost everything they had.

“I remember being in the food line and feeling ashamed,” she said. “That’s why we don’t ask questions."

To receive donated food from OneGenAway, there isn't any paperwork, no registration, no forms. The food is given away on a first-come, first-served basis.

Givebacks take place every Saturday, and the nonprofit estimates that it handed out more than 9.3 million pounds of food last year.

While Elaine and Chris Whitney serve as the face of the organization, they admit the work wouldn't be possible without a dedicated staff to ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. They pointed out that Director of Operations Scott Lucas, Regional Manager Stacy Downey and Operations First Responders Mark Thompson and Gary Fagan help make the organization a success.

“We have a group of about 30 volunteers that come (every week),” Chris Whitney said. “And just think, that was about how many volunteers we had when we started, period.”

For the upcoming fundraiser, the Whitneys are bringing in David Nasser, an evangelist, author and leader of the nonprofit For Others Collective, to serve as their featured speaker. Nasser was nine years old when he and his family fled their home country of Iran amid revolution. They came to the U.S. as refugees.

“I am thrilled to partner and be a part of One Generation Away’s Spring Breakfast," Nasser said. "Their work is vital and literally changing thousands of lives for the better, so I am honored to join them."

The Spring Breakfast fundraiser is being held at the Factory at Franklin. There's no cost to attend, and the event begins at 7 a.m. For more information about OneGenAway, their programs and to RSVP for the breakfast, visit www.OneGenAway.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee nonprofit OneGenAway sets fundraiser, continues hunger fight