Beech Tree News Network

United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK) has collected a record breaking more than 137,200 items so far as of March 26th in a region wide food drive titled “Feed the Need” across Allen, Barren, Butler, Hart, Logan, Simpson, and Warren counties. This represents a more than 

37,000 item increase in donations from what was collected last year and the most that the drive has collected in any one year since it began

“Feed the Need” was created in 2009 in response to the increased need in our communities for access to basic needs, including food. After speaking with the local food pantries that benefited from the drives in previous years, it was clear that assistance in providing a Safety Net of services like access to food was needed once again this year. Since its inception in 2009, “Feed the Need” has now collected more than half a million items for local food pantries that have been distributed to individuals and families in need in Southern Kentucky.

This year, more than 50 companies and organizations in Allen, Barren, Butler, Hart, Logan, Simpson, and Warren Counties participated by holding internal food drives February 1st – March 22nd. Individual county totals included:

Allen County: (1100 items) Halton Company, J.M. Smuckers

Barren County: (5,627 items) 3A Composites, LSC Communications, Federal Mogul, North Jackson Elementary

Butler County: (23,000 items) Butler County Water District, Delta Faucet, Morgantown Bank & Trust, WRECC – Morgantown Office, North Butler Elementary School, Morgantown Elementary Schools, Beechtree News, City of Morgantown Mayor’s Office

Hart County: (1,097 items) Kentucky Chrome Works

Logan County: (13,583 items) Auburn Banking Company, Logan Aluminum, Russellville Electric Plant Board, Logan Memorial Hospital, U.S. Bank (Auburn, Russellville), Ventra Plastics

Simpson County: (8,778 items) Berry Plastics, Crocker Animal Hospital, Franklin Precision Industry, Harman International, Simpson County Water District, Faith Baptist Church and Academy, Tractor Supply Company Distribution Center, Franklin Bank & Trust

Warren County: (84,788 items) BB&T of Bowling Green, Bowling Green Municipal Utilities, Bell, Orr, Ayers, and Moore, Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, BKD LLP, Connected Nation, DCBS, Dollar General Distribution Center, ELPO, Fruit of the Loom, Graves Gilbert Clinic, GRREC, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, JPS Wealth Advisors, LORD Corporation, Murphy Construction Group, Sumitomo, Trace Die Cast, Warren County Water District, Warren RECC, WKU Student Affairs, WKU Potter Hall, WKU Phi Delta Theta; also special thanks to WBKO.

Each year as part of United Way’s “Feed the Need” Food Drive, volunteers are recruited to assist with passing out flyers and collecting donations at local participating grocery stores to supplement the collected items from organization drives. This year, approximately 400 volunteers assisted with the in store drives across the 7 participating counties.  

All donations benefit food banks in the county in which the donations were collected. The benefiting food banks include Barren River Area Safe Space, Community Action of Southern Kentucky (Hart, Allen, Barren, & Warren), Concerned Citizens of Logan County, Feeding America Backpack Program, Gasper River Association of Baptists, HOTEL Inc., Hope House, Morgantown Mission, St. Vincent DePaul, Good Samaritan of Logan and Simpson Counties, WKU Food Pantry, SKYCTC Food Pantry, and The Salvation Army. Volunteers are continuing to add to the total number of items collected in each county as more donations continue to come in. 

For more information on how you can help assist with providing access to basic needs, call the United Way office at 270-843-3205 or log onto the United Way of Southern Kentucky website at www.liveunitedtoday.com.

United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK) is a local, independent, non-profit organization that works to identify and address the issues that matter most, change conditions and improve lives. The mission of United Way of Southern Kentucky is to be the leader in bringing together the resources to build a stronger, more caring community. United Way is focused on the building blocks for good quality of life – Education, Income, Health and Safety Net. Therefore, the vision of United Way is a Southern Kentucky where all residents are educated, healthy, and financially stable. Incorporated as a charitable non-profit entity in 1956, UWSK has long served a major role in the community by bringing people together to create opportunities that make a measurable difference in the quality of life for people where they live and work.