The REALTOR® Association of Southern Kentucky (RASK) holds two major food drives every year. REALTORS® Hope for Hunger, heldin the Spring and the Glow Run/Walk held in the Fall raise hundreds of thousands of servings of food each year for families struggling with food insecurity.
More than 50% of children in the city/county schools are on the free/reduced breakfast and lunch program. Several city/county schools in our area have over 90% of students on the free/reduced breakfast and lunch program. Many of these children often receive their only meals at school.
Many are unaware that programs such as the “backpack” program ends when school is not in session. Sadly, this means that during school breaks such as Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter breaks, a child in our community will go hungry. The food we are able to purchase through our Spring and Fall fundraiser events helps to fill the gap. Most of the food that we purchase is distributed by one of the school Family Resource Coordinators (FRCs) directly to the homes of the families who need it. REALTORS® Hope for Hunger servesWarren City/County Schools, and countless others in Allen, Butler, Edmonson, Logan and Simpson Counties.
REALTORS® Hope for Hunger also supports HOTEL INC, a community-based non-profit organization, by donating a percentage of proceeds to help stock the “ManaMart” food pantry. The ManaMart food pantry is one of the many services HOTEL INC provides and it averages 50 new families requiring assistance each month.
With the help of generous sponsors and dedicated volunteers, REALTORS® Hope for Hunger has donated over 3.1 million servings of food to local families in need over the last 10 years. Now partnering with Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland, we hope that the serving counts and awareness of food insecurity in our community will continue to rise.
Those wishing to contribute may bring non-perishable food and/or monetary donations to the REALTORS® Hope for Hunger food drivelocated between FirstBank and Trees n Trends on Campbell Lane anytime Friday, April 23rd through Sunday, April 25th. Look for the Feeding America truck! Volunteers will be on-site to assist you.
-submitted by The REALTOR® Association of Southern Kentucky
