ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — In the evening hours of Friday, Dec. 10, tornadic storms ripped through the Commonwealth of Kentucky leaving devastation in their wake.
Immediately, Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland began assessing damage by contacting agency partners in their 42-county service area. Counties reporting damage were: Breckenridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Casey, Christian, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Hickman, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor, Todd and Warren. While most agencies were found to be operational, the partner food bank in Mayfield had been completely destroyed.
Over the weekend, FAKH mobilized staff and volunteers to pack 3,400 food bags for distribution to emergency shelters and expanded food distributions in Bowling Green to serve 1,050 households. Later this week, three tractor-trailer loads of Emergency Food Boxes will arrive from Feeding America National Organization. Contents will include 19 pantry-sized, non-perishable food items including cans of tuna, chicken, corn, green beans, peas, applesauce, mandarin oranges, chicken and rice soup, spaghetti rings, black beans, pinto beans, peanut butter and jelly. These boxes will be distributed to households in the affected counties.
“Our priority today is to locate a temporary warehouse facility in the Purchase Area Development District and have it operational by mid-week,” said Jamie Sizemore, FAKH’s Executive Director. “Right now, we’re supporting neighbors facing hunger with emergency food boxes but FAKH is planning for increased food insecurity in the coming months. It may take a full year for people to get back on their feet.”
If you would like to aid recovery efforts you can donate to FAKH’s Tornado Relief Fund through its website: www.feedingamericaky.org/donate. For those that live locally, FAKH is accepting donations of hygiene and cleaning products at its Volunteer Center at 300 Peterson Drive from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, Dec. 17. Visit FAKH’s social media channels to see a complete list of needs. FAKH is on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.