SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Since the pandemic began, food pantries have been busy helping families in need.
One food pantry in particular – the AMEN House in Georgetown – has begun to hand out weekly supplemental boxes in addition to regular distribution to help keep up with the increase in requests for food.
“Our grocery cart that we hand out under normal circumstances has roughly two weeks of food in it and we’ve always known that, but it’s been able to go alongside a person’s paycheck and it was a balance for families,” AMEN House Executive Director Michele Carlisle said. “Then all of a sudden those paychecks disappeared.”
Carlisle said that’s when they noticed the extra need in the community and they quickly addressed it with the COVID-19 supplemental boxes. The contents of the boxes vary depending on family size.
Since March, the AMEN House has handed out nearly 900 supplemental boxes. That’s on top of their regular grocery cart distributions, which total about 1,000 per month.
“If you are struggling to put food on the table, you need to come see us,” Carlisle said. “It’s a quick application. We do it in the parking lot because nobody’s coming inside right now. You will get food the very same day.”
As for the supplemental boxes, Carlisle says they expect to continue handing them out for a while.
“Our hope is that things will settle, but out reality may be very different than that in the next months,” she said. “But I promise you, as long as there is a need in Scott County, we will fill it.”
If you are fortunate enough to have extra income and would like to help the AMEN House, they are accepting food donations. You can drop them off in the parking lot any time during their regular hours.
