Having no food to eat, Barbara had to dig through a dumpster to salvage what remnants of food she could find. She needed help, and Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Grateful Bread Food Pantry answered the call.
“There are times when I’ve been down to only having a can of corn, but the pantry has been able to help me,” Barbara said. “I would call Grateful Bread a miracle to my community.”
You never know who is battling hunger. Hunger walks among us, and hurts far too many children, their families, and seniors in Appalachia. CAP’s Grateful Bread Food Pantry, Eagle Food Pantry, and partner food pantry, Water Into Wine, work together to fight hunger and feed hope to people in need in Appalachia.
When Grateful Bread received a call to help Barbara, Brad Hunt immediately left the pantry to find her and get her the food she desperately needed. He now delivers pantry and commodity boxes to her each month. Grateful Bread helps 190 seniors in Rockcastle County each month through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), also known as commodity boxes.
This program gives supplemental food to low-income seniors (ages 60 and above) like Barbara in addition to their regular pantry box items. Since opening in June, Eagle Food Pantry in McCreary County serves 38 seniors with commodity boxes while Water Into Wine in Magoffin County serves 200 seniors through the program. In Kentucky, 16.6 percent of those 60 years and older suffer from food insecurity, according to the Kentucky Department for Aging and Independent Living.
“There is a need for food in this community that not a lot of people here realize,” Hunt said. “There are only two small grocery stores in the entire county but, if you don’t drive or have a car, they can be hard to get to. Being able to deliver pantry and commodity boxes to some of our participants helps ensure their needs are met.”
CAP’s annual Hunger Walk event in September brings awareness to hunger and food insecurity and seeks to educate the community about how to help stop the food crisis in Appalachia. This is the 10th year the event is being recognized in Rockcastle County and the first year it is being brought to Fayette County. Hunger Walk 2021 is sponsored by Texas Roadhouse.
Each year, supporters of the event collect nonperishable food donations to help Grateful Bread continue its mission of reducing physical and spiritual hunger in Rockcastle County. “Thank you to all of those who help make Grateful Bread possible,” Barbara said. “Your support is keeping people like me from going hungry.”
Help us restore hope at home for people in need in Appalachia by participating in this year’s virtual Hunger Walk event. An online portal is open to create fundraisers and virtual teams for the event throughout September, which is Hunger Awareness Month, at christianapp.org/HungerWalk21. Or share photos on social media, use #HungerWalk21, and tag us @chrisappproj. Due to COVID-19 concerns, CAP will host a symbolic walk September 16, 2021.
