Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland recently put out the data from the latest Map the Meal Gap study, and FAKH Marketing and Communications Manager Manda Barger says the numbers show the need for support.
“Throughout our 42-county service area, 17 percent of our neighbors are facing food insecurity,” Barger said. “That means that there’s one in six of our neighbors, they could be your friends or your family, that are struggling to make ends meet to get food on the table or are facing certain challenges that get in the way of them getting the necessary food that they need.”
Barger says 21.1 percent of children in the region struggle with food insecurity, with numbers for the region and Hardin County both trending higher than national averages.
Barger says food insecurity is a problem you may not immediately recognize.
“We had a lot of this conversation when we were talking with our SNAP advocacy during the summer in that you don’t know what kind of challenges or hardships that someone can face, and I think all of us can understand that we might be a family emergency or a natural disaster away from needing support,” Barger said.
Feeding America encourages Kentuckians to support their neighbors in need during Hunger Action Month in September, with opportunities to donate or volunteer.
“A lot of people can also just advocate, get this information out there,” Barger said. “We don’t want this to be a hidden issue in our community. We want to make sure that people who need help are getting it, but also that we are aware of the problems that members of our community are facing.”
Visit www.feedingamericaky.org for more information.
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