FRANKFORT, Ky. - No part of the Bluegrass State is untouched by hunger, new research shows.

According to the "Map the Meal Gap 2018" report, not only does food insecurity exist in every Kentucky county, 30 percent of residents who don't have enough food likely don't qualify for federal nutrition assistance. Rates range from 8 percent in Oldham County to 24 percent in Magoffin County, where the Water into Wine Food Pantry is located. Valarie Inzer, the food pantry's director of distribution, said she isn't surprised because she sees the faces of hunger each day.

"It's real, it's here and it's not just one or two people or organizations that need to address it," she said. "We all just need to humble ourselves and think, we could be in that situation - and if we was, what would we like for other people to do to help us?"

The report found that 19 percent of Kentucky kids are food insecure, but it's one in three children in Clay, Elliott, Knott, Magoffin and Wolfe counties. Food insecurity is defined as a lack of access at times to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Inzer said many food-pantry clients are employed but face challenges that make it difficult to put food on the table.

"Everybody's circumstances are different," she said. "They're not eligible for any other public assistance, yet they hardly make enough, or what extra money they do have goes to insurance because of a medical or health issue."

Water into Wine Food Pantry is part of the Kentucky Association of Food Banks, whose members distributed 63 million meals last year across the state. Inzer said hungry families need more, as assistance from food pantries and soup kitchens can only go so far.

"This is only a supplemental assistance," she said. "What we give out is not made for people to live on month to month or week to week, but to supplement what they can already supply for themselves."

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves a dozen meals for every one meal provided by Feeding America, which also partners with the Kentucky Association of Food Banks. Congress is considering further restricting SNAP eligibility as it debates the 2018 Farm Bill.

The report is online at map.feedingamerica.org.


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Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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