The $5 million from Kentucky’s “rainy day fund” that Gov. Andy Beshear gave to food pantries on Friday is headed to distribution centers with one directive: buy food and give it away quickly.
Melissa McDonald, the executive director of Feeding Kentucky, a network of seven food pantries tasked with disseminating the funds to organizations serving people in need, said the “bulk” of the emergency money will go to the largest banks, God’s Pantry and Feeding America Kentucky Heartland. The other food banks in the network will get the remainder, split based on rates of food insecurity.
“Their estimated time to spend it is as soon as possible,” McDonald said during a Monday afternoon press conference.
- RELATED: A time to feed: Hopkinsville groups respond to federal government shutdown
- RELATED: A big need: Dinner church prepares to feed more than 500 on Thanksgiving
As soon as Tuesday, she said, many food banks will be able to hit “purchase” on orders of food. The types of food and how it’s distributed will vary by location. As the colder months begin, fresh produce is harder to come by, McDonald said, making for “a tough season.”
While elderly Kentuckians and children often face higher rates of food insecurity, McDonald said food pantries are seeing “a mix of everyone” in need right now.
“You’re hitting with the federal shutdown; you’re hitting, also, those individuals that have worked for the federal government that are now missing their second paycheck, and they may never have thought that they would ever be in a situation where they would need food assistance,” she said. “So it’s hitting everyone.”
As the federal government shutdown drags on, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been in limbo. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in late October that it wouldn’t use contingency funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing, which left 42 million Americans and around 563,000 Kentuckians to face uncertainty about how to afford groceries on Nov. 1.
Beshear joined other Democrats in suing over the decision, and several judges have said that the Trump administration can’t block the funds. Beshear then declared a state of emergency on Friday and directed $5 million from the state’s budget reserve trust fund to food banks that are part of the Feeding Kentucky network.
Meanwhile, the USDA announced Monday it will pay about half of November SNAP benefits, but they could take months to make it to recipients’ hands, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reported.
As that battle unfolds, Feeding Kentucky will continue to get food assistance to people, but the organization’s capacity is far below the federal government’s, McDonald said: SNAP pays for nine meals for every one that food pantries cover across the nation.
The $5 million in emergency funding “was a nice, big surprise,” McDonald said. But: “The sustainability of this is all going to depend on the federal government. We know what our big push is to make sure that SNAP is funded.”
How to help
People wanting to help can do so in a variety of ways — through donating food items, money and/or time, McDonald said.
“In the food bank world, donating dollars will go further than donating product,” she said. “But donating anything is always welcome.”
Food banks can work with wholesalers and buy food for cheaper than the retail prices most consumers will have to pay, she said.
Still: “these feeding agencies, food banks and their partners are going to welcome any and everything,” McDonald said.
Here are a few ways to help:
- Learn more about donations to Feeding Kentucky here: https://feedingky.org/donate-2/
- The state is hosting a food drive from Oct. 30–Nov. 21 at major state office buildings in Frankfort and the L&N building in Louisville.
How to get help
For food assistance from the Feeding Kentucky network, people can visit the organization’s website, click on any county and be directed to the nearest food bank.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist and Kentuckian. She has covered everything from crime to higher education. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since.
