United Way of Southern Kentucky hosting annual “Feed the Need” food drive

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - United Way of Southern Kentucky, a local non-profit organization, is hosting its annual “Feed the Need” food drive on March 24-25. Since 2009, these food drives have collected almost 1,000,000 non-perishable food items for Southern Kentuckians in need.

According to Lindsey Sanson, Chair of United Way of Southern Kentucky’s Board of Directors, United Way has many different programs across the region that helps people. “Feed the Need” is just one of the many different programs that help those in need across Southern Kentucky. Sanson said that without the help of the community, none of this would be possible.

“We typically collect around 75,000 items like canned goods, non-perishable items and things like that. We have several local businesses that help with that, so they have (donation) drives in their businesses,” said Sanson. “It is not just here in Warren County, but it is also in most of the surrounding counties as well.”

Melissa Conley, a member of the United Way of Southern Kentucky’s Board of Directors, has been volunteering with United Way of Southern Kentucky for three years now. She said the main reason she volunteers each and every year is to give back to the community of Southern Kentucky.

“It is so rewarding when you know that what you are doing makes a difference in someone else’s life,” said Conley.

Other board members say that donations like the “Feed the Need” food drive say a lot about the resiliency and generosity of communities across the region.

“This is a place that I, and so many of us, call home. Food insecurity is a big problem in a lot of communities, including here in South Central Kentucky,” said Leyda Becker, a member of the United Way of Southern Kentucky’s Board of Directors, when asked about the generosity of the community.

“Anytime something happens in our community, like the recent wind storms we had, there was food lost in the homes. We are just trying to help restock those pantries. People in our community, they come out, because they know they could be the next person to face that. If you give, others give and you pay it forward, that is what makes South Central Kentucky very special.”

The drives will be taking place on Friday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, March 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For a full list of drop-off locations, click here.

For more information on how you can get involved in future events with United Way of Southern Kentucky, you can visit their website.

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