The first of ten regional meetings on the issue of food insecurity in the commonwealth took place Tuesday in Northern Kentucky.
The inaugural meeting in Highland Heights established the goals of the Hunger Task Force which was initiated earlier this month to combat what seems to be a growing problem in the Commonwealth.
Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles says the regional meetings will serve the purpose of displaying the need for the task force with statistics from foodbanks as well as developing attainable and measurable methods to fight the hunger inequities.
Gary Miles of Kentucky’s Heartland, a foodbank in Elizabethtown serving 42 counties, says the need for programs like this is ever-increasing. He states that 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children do not have sufficient meals in Kentucky. His group, along with other partners from Feeding America, will continue to attend the meetings hoping for progress, “We think that the need is increasing, it seems to be ever increasing; even though it seems like to some that the economy might be improving, it’s not necessarily improving for those people that need our services.”
Miles’ group commends the Commissioner for the Hunger Task Force, which is the first of its kind in Kentucky.
“We expect that, in the end, the state will perhaps decide to put more resources toward assisting the Feeding America foodbanks in the state, and of course us being one of those. We would benefit tremendously from that,” said Miles.
The organizations will continue to provide information to the Hunger Task Force and hope for improvement statewide for those in need.
