Morton Memorial United Methodist Church will celebrate a major milestone in its commitment to addressing food insecurity on the South Cumberland Plateau with a groundbreaking ceremony for The Well, a new home for the church’s growing food mission, at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 29.

The ceremony will take place on the Morton Memorial campus in Monteagle, where The Well will be constructed on property already owned by the church. Community members, volunteers, donors and friends of the mission are invited to attend.

The groundbreaking comes as Morton Memorial’s food mission continues to respond to significant need in the surrounding community. As the mission has grown, so has the need for a space designed specifically for its work.

The Well will provide a permanent home for the food mission, creating a safer, more efficient and more welcoming environment for the families it serves and the volunteers who make the mission possible. The facility will also address parking and traffic challenges associated with the current operation and free Morton Memorial’s Fellowship Hall for worship, fellowship and other church and community activities.

“This groundbreaking is about so much more than a building,” said Susan Askew, chair of the Filling the Well capital campaign. “It represents hundreds of families, dozens of volunteers and a community that has responded with incredible generosity to the needs of its neighbors. The Well will give us the space to serve people with dignity today while preparing this mission to meet the needs of our community for generations to come.”

The groundbreaking marks a significant milestone in Morton Memorial’s Filling the Well capital campaign, a $1.1 million effort to fund the new facility and help ensure the long-term future of the mission. To date, more than $556,000 has been raised or committed, thanks to support from individuals, foundations, organizations and community partners.

While construction represents an important step forward, fundraising for the project continues.

“We are tremendously grateful for the people and organizations who have brought us to this point,” Askew said. “Breaking ground gives all of us a chance to celebrate what this community has already accomplished - and to invite others to help us finish the work.”

The name The Well draws inspiration from the historic wells on the Morton Memorial property while also reflecting the church’s vision for the new facility: a place where people come together, needs are met and the community is strengthened.