Press Releases

 

Quarles leads Hunger Initiative regional meeting in Morehead

 

 

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
For more information contact:
Angela Blank
(502) 573-0450

 

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles led a meeting of advocates for the hungry and local leaders to learn what is being done at the local level to combat food insecurity in the Morehead area in the fifth of 10 regional meetings Tuesday.

“These regional meetings will give the Kentucky Hunger Task Force a clearer picture of the need as well as actions being taken locally to meet the need,” Commissioner Quarles said. “With this information, the task force can develop measurable, attainable goals for reducing hunger in Kentucky and a plan of action to achieve those goals.”

“It is important to have this conversation about hunger, as 1 in 6 Kentuckians struggle to secure enough food to live a healthy, active life,” said God’s Pantry CEO Marian Guinn. “God’s Pantry Food Bank is pleased to partner with Commissioner Quarles in hosting opportunities for this conversation in the hope that solutions can be identified.”

Guinn said God’s Pantry serves more than 190,000 people in central and eastern Kentucky each year, including 50,500 children and 33,800 senior citizens. God’s Pantry distributed more than 1 million pounds of food in its 10-county Morehead service area in the 2016 fiscal year, Guinn said.

Map the Meal Gap, an annual study by Feeding America, revealed that 17 percent of Kentucky’s population – 1 in 6 – was food insecure in 2014, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.

The Hunger Task Force is part of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Hunger Initiative, a first-of-its-kind effort to alleviate food insecurity in Kentucky. The objectives of the Hunger Task Force are to study the sources of hunger, identify the unique issues that affect different regions of the Commonwealth, and take an inventory of resources that can be brought to bear against the hunger problem in Kentucky.
The task force is holding a series of regional meetings throughout the state to hear from volunteers fighting hunger at the local level.

For more information about the Hunger Initiative, Hunger Task Force, and other regional meeting dates, visit kyagr.com/hunger.