Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)

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November 12, 2009

Homeless and Hunger Awareness Week coming up

By MIKE JAMES

GREENUP — Hunger is a significant problem in Greenup County, the director of the Greenup homeless education program says.

However, there is hope for the hungry, said Tammy Steele: A little bit of help from a lot of people can go a long way toward alleviating hunger in the county.

Steele is leading an awareness campaign and food drive that she says already is generating donations and showing signs that the community understands the problem and wants to lend a hand.

The campaign is part of Homeless and Hunger Awareness Week (Sunday through Nov. 21), set aside nationally to spotlight an issue that continues across the country.

Food collected in the drive will be given to Helping Hands of Greenup County, where families are referred for food, clothing and utility assistance.

It is important to know, with the holiday season approaching, that hunger is an all-year problem, Steele said. “It’s not just a holiday issue.”

She contacted churches, schools, civic groups and others and issued bags with the campaign logo for them to fill.

There also are drop-off points starting Sunday at Helping Hands, Greenup County Board of Education, and the Flatwoods and Greenup Food Fair stores, which will have trailers set up outside.

Helping Hands has seen a spike in its distributions, director Scarlet Grubb said. In September it handed out 6,000 pounds of food and then 9,900 pounds in October, she said. Also there were 45 more families in October than the previous month. “We see a lot of people we’ve never seen before,” Grubb said.

A typical month’s donations come to about 1,500 or 2,000 pounds per month and are augmented with surplus commodities and some private and grant funding, Grubb said.

So far, the drive is showing signs of success, Steele said. Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, the Greenup County school district and courthouse employees are filling bags and interdepartmental challenges are adding to the total.

“It’s had a definite ripple effect,” she said.

Churches and at least one Girl Scout troop are also filling bags.

There is still time to help; people, groups or businesses wanting to get involved may call Steele at (606) 473-1447.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

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