Directors from each of Louisville’s 13 community ministries gathered outside Eastern Area Community Ministries to call for a city-wide food drive. They described increasing demand as food prices remain stubbornly high and eligibility for federal food assistance tightens.
At the same time, commodities provided to food pantries by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have sharply declined over the last fiscal year through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Paired together, it means Kentucky food pantries are trying to stretch less food for more people.
“At the very same time when our neighbors need us the most, the community ministries and other food organizations are receiving significantly less food to distribute,” said Carrie Gerard, executive director of Eastern Area Community Ministries. “So we are being asked to do more with less at exactly the moment when the need is growing.”…