GLASGOW, Ky. (WBKO) – In an effort to combat food insecurity in Barren County, Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland hosted a round-table discussion and luncheon with community leaders and organizers of local food pantries, planning for future collaborations and allocations of services.

Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland fuels local food pantries with food donations over a 42-county service area. However, without boots on the ground in those areas, it’s difficult to tell where services need to be allocated most.

Hosting these discussions bridges the gap and allows area food pantries to coordinate efforts and schedule services accordingly.

“They’re doing a better job serving everybody in need, their resources actually go down because they’re concentrating them where they really need to go, and they work together,” explained Jamie Sizemore, executive director of Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland. “So, we really build a network of cooperation through the community.”

Community discussions also help to highlight needs in a given community. In Barren County, while Glasgow may have sufficient services, outlying areas like Cave City and Park City are difficult to provide food for.

“A lot of people lack transportation in rural Kentucky, you’ve got a lot of homebound seniors, and so making sure that we’re reaching those people, and if they have an emergency situation, making sure that their needs are met. So, that’s the biggest concern with Barren County right now,” Sizemore explained.

Feeding America hosted a similar meeting in Allen County in January, and since then, community leaders there have come together to improve the state of food insecurity.

Additional programs include a school food pantry and new food assistance programs across the county.

“But then we have three other agencies now in Allen County that are serving the general public, and so we’ve actually picked two more up from that January meeting, so we’ve got some great collaboration that’s going on in that community now,” Sizemore said.

Roberta Matheson, an elder with First Christian Church in Glasgow, has been assisting with a community food pantry for three years. With today’s information and collaboration with other pantries nearby, she hopes to being the best possible help to families in need across Barren County.

“I never realized how many organizations there are in our area, and I think if we do a concerted effort, we’re actually going to be able to reach a lot more people, because the more people you know, the more you’ll get to know others, so I think that really excites me.”

Those impacted by food insecurity are encouraged to visit Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland’s website to find an available food pantry in their area.

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