Governor and First Lady Are Scheduled to Appear; Proceeds Will Go to Hunger Organizations

FRANKFORT (January 4, 2018) — United States Ambassador Kelly Craft, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Joe Craft, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, State Representative Phillip Pratt, and State Senator Robin Webb will host a Hunger Initiative dinner in January to benefit food-insecure Kentuckians.

Governor Matt Bevin and First Lady Glenna Bevin are scheduled to serve as the featured guests at the first Serving Up Solutions Dinner on Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. EST at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort. State Representative Phillip Pratt and State Senator Robin Webb will serve as legislative co-chairs for the dinner.

“This dinner will help raise awareness of the problem of chronic food insecurity in Kentucky, which is one of the primary aims of our Hunger Initiative,” Commissioner Quarles said. “This event will focus on the need for policy solutions while providing tangible benefits for Kentucky’s hungry. I expect the Serving Up Solutions dinner to become an annual event and a staple of Kentucky’s winter calendar.”

Proceeds from the Serving Up Solutions dinner will benefit Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry (KHFH) and the Kentucky Association of Food Banks (KAFB).

“As an inaugural member of the Hunger Initiative, the Kentucky Association of Food Banks has had a front-row seat to seeing how the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has waged war on hunger,” said Tamara Sandberg, KAFB executive director. “We are excited for this new collaborative effort to raise awareness about the chronic problem of food insecurity so many Kentuckians face.”

“Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry is honored to be a co-beneficiary of the first Serving Up Solutions Dinner,” said Ivan Schell, KHFH executive director. “Our organization has been focused on processing and distributing donated venison for Kentuckians in need for more than 20 years. We are proud to work alongside Commissioner Quarles in his mission to combat food insecurity across our state.”

Tables for the event can be purchased from the Kentucky Association of Food Banks for a minimum $800 donation by contacting KAFB at kafb.org/serving-up-solutions. Sponsorships are also available.

The Hunger Initiative is a first-of-its-kind effort in Kentucky that Commissioner Quarles launched in the spring of 2016 to bring together farmers, charitable organizations, faith groups, community leaders, and government entities to look for ways to reduce hunger in Kentucky.

Map the Meal Gap 2017, an annual study by Feeding America, revealed that one in every six Kentuckians – including one in five children – was food insecure in 2015, meaning that consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year.