Feeding the Multitude

(above) Eagle Food Pantry Manager Joseph Beaudoin loads food into a participant’s car. A child in the backseat smiles as she watches him.

BY BRIANNA STEPHENS

Ayoung girl peers around the backseat as Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) employees load the trunk of the car with food boxes and bags of potatoes. Her eyes twinkle with excitement and a grin sneaks across her face at the sight of the food she will soon get to have. When the trunk is closed and the family of five drive away, the silhouette of the girl’s hand eagerly waves goodbye out the back window of the car.

By its grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration in June, Eagle Food Pantry had 61 households signed up for assistance. The pantry is CAP’s third pantry program and aims to reduce physical and spiritual hunger in McCreary County, Kentucky. Eagle Food Pantry works alongside two other pantries in the county to provide nutritious food for children, their families, and seniors.

“CAP always looks to meet the needs of the communities we serve,” said Joseph Beaudoin, pantry manager. “We want to listen to the people we serve, take their ideas, and find programming that best suits their needs. We listened to our community, and we saw that another pantry was needed.”

McCreary County has one of the highest food insecurity rates in the state. The overall food insecurity rate for the county during 2019 was 21.8 percent, while the rate for children was 27.9 percent, according to Feeding America. Around 91 percent of households and 95 percent of children in McCreary County were eligible for income-based nutrition programs, according to Feeding America’s 2019 report.

Even with that support, many people in the county are unsure of where their next meal will come from. CAP anticipates nearly 800 families in the area may need pantry assistance. The pantry is working to develop partnerships in the community to reach as many households in need as possible.

“There are a lot of people struggling in Appalachia,” said Mike Higginbotham, CAP Facility Management, during the grand opening ceremony. He led the effort to convert a thrift store at the Eagle campus to a fully-stocked and functional food pantry. “It makes me proud to be a part of this mission by driving the nails, putting the windows and flooring in, and doing all the work that was needed to get the pantry ready.”

In the Parkers Lake community, where the pantry serves, there is not a grocery store. Adequate transportation can be a barrier to traveling to grocery stores in nearby cities or to the other pantries in the county, leaving residents to rely on the prepackaged foods or fast-food style meals in Parkers Lake. Beaudoin and his team distribute pantry boxes which include rice, pasta or cereal, nonperishable items, shelf stable milk, canned proteins, and, when available, snacks, such as granola bars. As the pantry continues to grow, it will begin to provide frozen and refrigerated items, including meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. The pantry is working closely with the local extension office to also provide recipe cards to households for the foods they receive.

In the months to come, Eagle Food Pantry’s staff look to assist local schools with the weekend backpack program, much like CAP’s Grateful Bread Food Pantry in Rockcastle County. The staff are also working with CAP’s Elderly Services Program to distribute commodity boxes to seniors in the community.

“We are happy to celebrate this addition to CAP’s services in Appalachia,” said CAP President/CEO Guy Adams. “For nearly 60 years, CAP has continued to listen to and meet the needs of our participants, all while building hope, transforming lives, and sharing Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.”

(above) In June, CAP’s Cumberland Valley Human Services Director Mike Loiacono and the staff of Eagle Food Pantry cut the ribbon on the new facility.