ASHLAND, Ky., August 23, 2023 – The fourth annual Power Up the Pantry event is set for Thursday, Sept. 14, at three locations across eastern Kentucky. This food donation and fundraiser is a collaborative effort between Kentucky Power and WYMT in effort to replenish depleted area food pantries in Kentucky and help fight increasing food insecurity in the region.
Non-perishable food and charitable gifts collected for Power Up the Pantry benefit local agencies supported by God’s Pantry Food Bank and Facing Hunger Food Bank.
Donation drop-off will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:
• Ashland – Kentucky Power, 1645 Winchester Avenue
• Hazard – ARH Medical Mall, 210 Black Gold Boulevard
• Pikeville – Kentucky Power Service Center, 3249 N. Mayo Trail
Facing Hunger Food Bank’s CEO, Cynthia Kirkhart, reported a 23% increase in food insecurity in the counties served by that food bank. She’s anticipating a great turnout this year but said the success of the event requires an understanding of the increasing numbers of children and adults who are suffering from food insecurity, or the condition of not having access to sufficient food, or food of an adequate quality, to meet basic nutritional needs.
“Power Up the Pantry is critical as a means to collectively address hunger in Kentucky by organizing efforts to bring hunger to the forefront of the public’s understanding,” Kirkhart said. “Every year, the donations are directed to Kentucky communities in need, keeping the donations in the area where Kentucky Power and Facing Hunger share communities at the center of our work.”
Lanette Pinson, God’s Pantry regional resource engagement specialist, agreed that Power Up the Pantry is an effective way to raise awareness of the needs of local pantries and food banks that are working diligently to provide food for communities.
“We are currently feeding 1 in 7 Kentuckians. That number is staggering when you think about it,” Pinson said. “Nearly 155,000 children in Kentucky under the age of 18, and nearly 77,000 seniors over the age of 60 are food insecure. The overall number of people being served is currently close to 600,000 Kentuckians.”
Donations of non-expired, non-perishable foods, especially the “pop-top” kind that don’t require a tool to open, as well as monetary donations of any amount are all accepted. God’s Pantry representatives report that, for every dollar donated, their organization can collect, store and distribute enough food for eight meals. Since the first annual Power up the Pantry event in 2019, nearly $60,000 has been donated and thousands of pounds of food have been collected.
Bob Shurtleff, Kentucky Power external affairs manager and event organizer, said he hopes the reason for digging deep this year and making this another successful food drive is clear.
“Our neighbors are in need,” he said. “Adults and children all around us are suffering from hunger and lack access to healthy food options. With food insecurity continuing to increase throughout our service area, we hope people will continue to step up to the challenge and help these organizations tackle the tough job of ensuring there’s enough food on everyone’s table.”
Facing Hunger, based in Huntington, W.Va., serves food pantries in Boyd, Greenup, Lawrence and Martin counties. God’s Pantry supplies more than 400 food pantries and meal programs in central and eastern Kentucky. Checks can be made payable to God’s Pantry Food Bank or Facing Hunger Food Bank. For questions, email info@facinghunger.org or info@godspantry.com.
Kentucky Power, headquartered in Ashland, provides service to 163,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties and is an operating company in the American Electric Power system, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States.