Scott County's Amen House aims for 1,500 Thanksgiving food bags, calls for more holiday volunteers to help

With November its busiest month, the Scott County organization is distributing Thanksgiving food allocations and asking the community to volunteer as the holidays bring added pressure for families.

Scott County's Amen House aims for 1,500 Thanksgiving food bags and needs more volunteers as November becomes its busiest month

Amen House works toward 1,500 Thanksgiving bags, seeks more volunteers

By: Carlee Hogsten

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SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — As Thanksgiving gets closer, the holiday season can bring added pressure for families already trying to make ends meet. One Scott County organization is stepping in to help.

This Thanksgiving, the Amen House is working toward 1,500 Thanksgiving food bags, and more than 500 Thanksgiving allocations went out last week alone. Carlisle says they'll keep going until the day before Thanksgiving.

"If you are struggling to feed your family for even one meal, there's a program for you here," Carlisle said.

Food insecurity doesn't always mean going hungry every day. It can be an unexpected bill, a paycheck that doesn't stretch, or a temporary setback.

Feeding America estimates more than 9,000 people in Scott County experience food insecurity.

"Last year we saw almost 6000 of those individuals, um, were touched by the Amen house, um, so we are making that impact," Carlisle said.

That need grows around the holidays. The Amen House says November is historically its busiest month.

"What we want, is to provide the ingredients so people can create those moments and memories around their kitchen tables," Carlisle said.

The Amen House says it needs more help than just donations. It wants people to step up and volunteer.

"There's over 550 active volunteers right now serving in the month of November, um, and it is a beautiful, beautiful way, um, come be part of our team, come help us pull this off," Carlisle said.

Those volunteers help keep the food pantry, thrift store and soup kitchen running.

"It truly is just kind of how we take care of each other well," Carlisle said.

Their work doesn't stop when Thanksgiving ends, as the Amen House serves the community year round.

"The stress and the pressure of Christmas coming and providing gifts for everybody that you love, um, can be an extra layer of stress for some of the families that we serve," Carlisle said.

Scott County residents who need food can come to the Amen House, speak with an intake specialist and receive help the same day.