Two Free Food Pantries in Appalachian Kentucky
Two Free Food Pantries in Appalachian Kentucky
Appalachian Community Meal launched the Free Food Pantries project to address severe food scarcity in Berea, Madison County, Kentucky.
With contributions from Humanist Mutual Aid Network, ACM installed 5 street-side dry food pantries. They provide non-discriminatory, barrier-free, and consistent access to food and encourage residents/neighbors to share readily with each other and those in need.
Homeowners have volunteered to host these pantries on their property and help maintain them.
Two more installations are pending with a list of requests from still more Berea community members, as well as requests from neighboring counties and states as far away as West Virginia.
We enlisted the aid of artists and others in the community to help install and beautify the 5 pantries.
The project has been embraced by the community, as evidenced by their frequent use and media coverage, as well as easily searchable references in local forums.
It is estimated that the five pantries together see several hundred pounds of non-perishable food shared each month.
Volunteers painted murals on the pantries to enhance their visibility and appeal, which has helped to foster a sense of pride and ownership within the community.
The $300 we will receive will allow us to build, stock and install two more free pantries.
NEWS COVERAGE
https://www.richmondregister.com/news/appalachian-community-meals-in-berea-free-food-for-e veryone/article_ae20ceee-b169-11ed-89eb-878bccd140bc.html
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/nae21GRB2wwqWzXo/?mibextid=oFDknk
https://fox56news.com/news/local/barrier-free-pantries-pop-up-throughout-berea/
https://www.richmondregister.com/news/acm-installs-new-dry-food-pantries-across-berea/article 2260d397-8c01-51e1-a4e2-33ec0c6ad213.html?utmcampaign=blox&utm_source=facebook& utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0oWZy6MBtbofgYLc7SQa3zqRXUNks7OPwMOo4x-qZKolRY vabyV59YXmg
https://ket.org/program/kentucky-edition/february-12-2024/