Thy Will Be Done

BY BRIANNA STEPHENS

Everything happens for a reason. It’s an adage many believe and with good reason.

The news about the closing of Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) preschool in McCreary County was bittersweet for Kathy Perry and the school’s other employees. Even though it meant they had to say goodbye to their students, it happened for a good reason: the local school system was going to provide preschool services to families in the area.

So, as it has always gone in CAP history, when a need is met, CAP looks for the next need to address.

In the interim, Perry and other preschool staff helped out at CAP’s Grateful Bread Food Pantry in Mount Vernon, serving participants and learning how to operate a pantry. Little did they know God was preparing them for their next role, because after a few months of serving at Grateful Bread, it was decided that CAP would open a food pantry in McCreary County, which has one of the highest food insecurity rates in the state.

“God’s hand has been in this since the beginning,” said Perry, who is now the coordinator of Eagle Food Pantry. The pantry opened to the public in 2021, and soon after, an expansion was built, opening in 2022. “He gives us all different gifts and talents to use, and He prepared us for this new opportunity to be His hands and feet in this community,” Perry said.

A native of McCreary County, Perry is familiar with the food insecurity issues that many in the community face. In addition to pantry boxes, Eagle Food Pantry offers commodity boxes for seniors and delivery services for participants who are not able to pick up their pantry boxes in person.

“We know how critical this food is for our participants, and our delivery service is an area where we have tried to fill the gap and meet the needs of children, their families, and seniors here in McCreary County,” Perry said.

Whether it’s during business hours or when she is out running errands, Perry has become a familiar and trusted face in the community. She treats her participants like extended family members, always checking in on them to see how she can help, be it through the pantry or by referring them to other CAP programs. Perry loves to see her participants walk in the door with smiles on their faces, but she can also tell when they are struggling.

When a regular participant came into the pantry with tears in her eyes, Perry was there for her. The woman confided in her, sharing her hardships. Her husband had been diagnosed with cancer a few weeks before, and because her children and other family members lived out of state, she had been forced to quit her job to provide full-time care to her husband. On top of it all, a local rate increase had caused a higher electric bill than usual and rising fuel prices had made it difficult for her to drive her husband to his doctor’s appointments, which were two hours away.

Having lost her own parents to cancer, Perry’s heart ached for the woman, and she wanted to do what she could to provide her some relief. She offered Eagle Food Pantry’s delivery services so the participant could stay home to care for her husband, as well as save fuel in her car, and she has given the family the option to receive an emergency pantry box if they need extra food. She also referred the family to CAP’s Family Advocacy program for help paying bills. Before the woman left the pantry that day, she smiled with hope in her eyes, gave Perry a warm hug, and invited her to have a cup of coffee at her home.

“We want our participants to feel loved when they come to the pantry and to feel empowered to share the experiences they are having,” Perry said. “I feel that is what our calling is through Christ: to show them love, help meet the need where we can, and most of all, to be able to lighten some of the burden. Without Christ, I couldn’t serve my participants.”