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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Agriculture awarded $2,500 grants to Dare to Care Food Bank of Louisville and God’s Pantry Food Bank of Lexington in a ceremony Tuesday in Louisville.
The grants will go toward the purchase of Kentucky Proud agricultural products that will be served at each organization’s Kids Cafés. Rodger Bingham, deputy executive director of the KDA’s Office of Agriculture Marketing and Product Promotion, made the presentations at the Kids Café at the Presbyterian Community Center in Louisville.
“I am very excited that the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is able to help these food banks do their good work,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “Feeding the hungry is an article of faith and a high calling, especially when children are involved. The fact that Kentucky producers will benefit is a bonus.”
"We are pleased to receive this grant from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture," said Marian Blanchard, executive director for God's Pantry Food Bank. "This summer children attending our Kids Cafés will benefit from nutritious, healthy, Kentucky-grown fruits and vegetables."
“The children who are served by our Kids Cafés are grateful to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for this gift and the chance to enjoy some of the fine foods that are produced in our own state,” said Denton Randall, director of development for Dare to Care Food Bank.
Dare to Care Food Bank is a Louisville-area nonprofit agency dedicated to providing food assistance to people in need. It distributed 10.4 million pounds of food in 2004, including 1.6 million pounds of produce. It operates 17 Kids Cafés that served 96,000 meals in 2004. Dare to Care Food Bank provides food aid to the working poor and senior citizens; 50 percent of its clients are families with children.
God’s Pantry Food Bank of Lexington serves 49 counties of central and eastern Kentucky. Last year God’s Pantry Food Bank and its member agencies distributed more than 10.5 million pounds of food to needy families. God’s Pantry Food Bank operates 10 Kids Cafés in Fayette, Clark and Harlan counties.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Division of Food Distribution administers the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commodity food programs in Kentucky. Those programs serve nearly 17,000 households in the Commonwealth.For more information, contact Denton Randall, director of development for Dare to Care Food Bank, at (502) 966-3821; Kathy Goss of God’s Pantry Food Bank at (859) 255-6592; or Bill Clary, director of public relations for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, at (502) 564-4696.
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| Rodger Bingham of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture presents a $2,500 check to Kathy Goss, left, and Peggy Shugars of God's Pantry Food Bank of Lexington. |
| Rodger Bingham of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture presents a $2,500 check to Linda Miller of Dare to Care Food Bank of Louisville. |
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