Food City customers, employees and suppliers donated $542,391 to Breakthrough T1D (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).
Lori Marsh, development director for East Tennessee, said Food City is the agency’s largest contributor in the state.
The donation was made on Aug. 21, 2024, at the Food City at 9565 Middlebrook Pike in Ball Camp. The store has a new manager, Kim Tabaku, who previously managed a Food City in Loudon County. Junior Sneed, the former manager, has been promoted to a management training program, she said.
Kim Tabaku
Food City recognizes the store staff with the most donations, and the Ball Camp store took first place two years in a row. “We just talk to the customers,” Tabaku said, adding that store staff takes seriously the opportunity to fund research through a small contribution from many individuals.
Betsy James, She is the event manager for the Knoxville and Chattanooga chapters of Food City and raised funds for research into type 1 diabetes because her niece suffers from the disease.
JDRF was renamed Breakthrough T1D to recognize that both older adults and young people have type 1 diabetes. There is currently no cure. Type 2 diabetes is an adult-onset disease that can sometimes be reversed with lifestyle changes (weight loss, diet changes, exercise).
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or any insulin at all. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels by moving glucose from the bloodstream into cells, where it can be used for energy.
“Cures for type 1 diabetes are a question of when, not if,” says Aaron J. Kowalski Ph.D., CEO of Breakthrough T1D. “We are closer than ever to taking off our devices and leaving the disease behind us forever.”
Flash Black
Marsh wore a red pin, the symbol of Flash Black, an active volunteer for Breakthrough T1D who died in Knoxville on June 19, 2024. Flash was an actor in the Powell Playhouse and renovated his house with his son Rock Black in Flip or Flop with Flash and Rock.
In his obituary, he called for memorial donations for T1D: In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate in his name to JDRF now Breakthrough T1D at this link.
Woody Woods, Kim Tabaku and Robert Gladwin, Food City; Lori Marsh, Breakthrough T1D; Betsi James, Food City special events manager; Greg Sparks, Food City senior vice president and COO; Katie Penny, Food City executive vice president of operations; and Steven Jones, Food City district manager.
