Edmonson County hosting food drive for those set to be affected by SNAP benefit loss on November 1st
BROWNSVILLE, Ky. – Edmonson County Judge Executive Scott Lindsey is partnering with his community to make sure those that have access to SNAP benefits are still able to have food come November 1st, when those benefits are set to temporarily suspend due to the government shutdown.
“One of the things that we were talking about this morning is that hunger knows no political party. We’re just trying to take steps along with a lot of local organizations, the school system, the local department of Community Based Services, and we’re trying to sponsor a food drive to try to collect enough to assist with some of those cases, just in case the shut down does continue and the funds aren’t available,” he says.
Lindsey is partnering with Edmonson County Schools, the Cooperative Extension office and the Department of Community Based Services to provide this food drive, and the idea has actually been in the works for a few days now. Judge Lindsey and his team were notified of those who needed the benefits on Thursday, and the wheels were put in motion.
“We had a meeting Friday morning with myself and the Department of Community Based Services, and we’ve been trying to talk to people about what the need was and what we could do. This morning and yesterday, I actually spoke to the Edmonson County school system, and they were on board immediately because some of those affected would be students in Edmonson County and we want to make sure they’re taken care of as well,” he says.
That conversation led to even more interest from other groups in the county.
“We’ve actually talked to the local senior pantry and the local food bank. There’s a lot of local organizations, the extension agency, you name it. They’ve all come out in support of that, and they’re basically texting me now saying ‘What can we do?’ So what we’ll do is we’ll collect all of that in the Lions Club. The Edmonson County Lions Club has graciously given us permission to store it… and then we’ll get with the DCBS office, Department of Community Based Services, and we’ll find out about those who qualify for the SNAP benefits and try to get some support to them and assist them through this time if need be,” Lindsey says.
If you’re interested in donating, there are plenty of drop off locations and items they’re looking for.
“Each school in Edmonson County is a donation center. We have it at LifeSkills here in Brownsville, along with the ag extension agency. You can bring them in during normal business hours tomorrow. We would like to have any canned goods, any nonperishable food items. We’re thinking along the lines of kids some, too. So your Chef Boyardee’s, your soups and things of that nature… along with enough for a family to be able to eat if need be,” Lindsey says.
