The Kentucky Department of Agriculture received $40,000 from the USDA to help fund the purchase of more cold storage for seven major food banks across the Commonwealth.
The funding helped secure 42 refrigerators and freezers for food pantries across the state. Around one-third of the funds went to God’s Pantry Food Bank, which runs 500 food pantries and meal programs throughout eastern Kentucky.
Other organizations receiving the funding include Dare to Care Food Bank, Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland, Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Purchase Area Development District and Tri-State Food Bank.
Dana Feldman is the Department’s Executive Director for Consumer and Environmental Protection. She said the need for cold storage is high at food banks all over the state.
“It could be proteins, milk, meats, seafood, cheeses, anything that needs refrigeration,” Feldman said. “It's very important that they have some way of being able to handle that material correctly, and be able to store it correctly before it's picked up by a recipient.”
Kentucky also used $25,000 in 2020 to buy an initial round of refrigerators through its Emergency Food Assistance Program.
