As families and individuals continue to feel the pinch from the rising prices of food and other necessities, charities and nonprofits experience the strain, multiplied sometimes exponentially.
The budgets that Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center and other organizations would have included when applying for grants and planning fundraising last year aren’t accurate anymore, putting further pressure on limited resources.
“If you think about feeding a household of 36 people, you can imagine your own household cost and multiply that number,” said Merryman House spokeswoman Kayla Myers.
But a donation of 45,000 pounds of food and goods from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, distributed Saturday, has helped to relieve the strain on five area nonprofits.
Along with Merryman House, Paducah Cooperative Ministries, Livingston Helping Hands, Rotary Club of Metropolis and Olive Branch Outreach in Metropolis received donations.
“They estimated we’ll receive about 10,000 pounds of food,” Myers said.
Volunteers sorted the food and household materials Saturday morning, distributing them from the Worthington Industries warehouse.
Janet Camp, communications director for the local Latter-day Saints churches, said the food was grown, produced and canned by members of the church, and brought to Paducah on a surplus truck.
“We love to be part of the community, and we just love to serve,” Camp said.
She said the recipients were chosen based on some relationships that already existed between the church and nonprofits, as well as referrals and word-of-mouth.
“We’re hoping we can do another surplus truck later in the year, and then we’ll help them out again,” Camp said.
Myers said the food would help stock Merryman House’s warming kitchen and provide for the hot meals the shelter provides five days per week.
“We’re hoping the food portion will get us through a couple of months, and then some of those other pieces will either be used in our emergency shelter or used for our housing clients,” Myers said.
“We are so thankful. One box of pop tarts really does matter.”
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