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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Regional Food Banks Raising Awareness of KY’s Prevalent Food Insecurity

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Friday, August 30, 2019   

OWENSBORO, Ky. – This September, food banks in Kentucky and across the country are taking part in Hunger Action Month, to highlight the fact that 40 million Americans are food insecure.

Kentucky has the seventh highest rate in the nation of people struggling to put meals on the table. Glenn Roberts is the executive director of Tri-State Food Bank in Evansville, Indiana.

"We just can't educate the public enough about the issues of hunger, and how prevalent it is,” says Roberts. “But also how easy the fix can be if the whole community can work together. Because the food is out there. It's not that there's a food shortage, not in this country. There may be a food distribution problem, but there's not a food shortage."

Local food banks are seeking volunteers, donations and even help raising awareness on social media.

This fall, Roberts' food bank will be teaming up with McLean County High School, Webster County High School and Henderson High School to host early morning food drives that will be featured on local television.

"And they'll get to show off their collection of food and get a chance to be on TV for a brief moment,” says Roberts. “It has become very, very popular. This is our fifth year."

More than 600,000 Kentuckians were considered food insecure in 2017. Roberts says food insecurity doesn't discriminate.

"In essence, the middle class has been shrinking and continues to shrink,” says Roberts. “People just are having trouble making ends meet. Even if they're employed, they're holding down multiple part-time jobs. When you boil it down, it comes down to money and not having enough money for food."

Other events around the state include a Kentucky Hunger Dialogue on September 7 at Kentucky State University in Frankfort; a volunteer day on September 12 at Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland Volunteer Center in Elizabethtown; and a Hunger Walk to benefit the Dare to Care Food Bank on September 22 at the Waterfront Park's Harbor Lawn in Louisville.

Disclosure: Feeding Kentucky contributes to our fund for reporting on Hunger/Food/Nutrition, Poverty Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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