Food insecurity remained one of the most widespread needs of our partners in distressed Appalachian communities, reported Americans Helping Americans® executive director Cameron Krizek in September.
And thanks to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans®, in the past year we have been able to provide more than $100,000 in cash grants for food bank support, summer feeding programs and holiday food, benefitting more than 13,000 individuals.
Food Bank Support
Grants to food banks in Georgia and West Virginia served approximately 2,300 individuals in the past year, reported Cameron.
LAMP Ministries executive director Mary Mauricio in Gainesville, Georgia, shared the words of an elderly recipient struggling to get by on a meager fixed income who told Mary:
“You just don’t know what it means to me to be able to receive food that I can eat.
“It is hard living on a fixed income, but Americans Helping Americans® and LAMP has made a way for me.”
And in distressed McDowell County, West Virginia, Big Creek People in Action (BCPIA), with grant funding from Americans Helping Americans®, is able to purchase food including fresh fruits and vegetables, beef and poultry through the Mountaineer Food Bank to supplement U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities it also distributes.
BCPIA executive director Dyanne Spriggs explained that families return to the food pantry in times of need because they know the pantry will be there when benefits and groceries run low—and that they will not face judgment.
Summer Feeding
Grant funding for summer feeding programs in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia provided meals for more than 5,300 students last summer, helping to ensure they didn’t go hungry when school was closed.
“These programs helped fill the gap created when school breakfast and lunch programs pause,” states Cameron.
“Partners used different models—weekly meal support, family food packages, and community distribution sites—but each addressed the same predictable strain on families with children.”
The Lunchbox program operated by Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies (AMOS) in Jefferson City, Tennessee, and supported by Americans Helping Americans®, used weekly distributions to reach children at low-income housing-authority properties and local schools.
“They hail this year’s summer feeding a success since they were able to feed more children than last year at more locations,” reported Cameron, noting that “their volunteers have extensive knowledge of where to go and which communities have been neglected.”
AMOS ministry center coordinator Karrie Foust shared in her reports that on the last day of meal deliveries, “two mothers told the volunteers that this program has really saved their summer,” said Cameron.
“In addition to the mothers, many of the kids came out to say, ‘Thank you!’”
In Atlanta, Georgia, American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 9-1-1 began its Meals for Minors on Wheels program with 22 families representing 74 children and built a volunteer-supported delivery model that includes weekly donations of fresh milk and oatmeal.
“Participating families were surveyed so the food would reflect what children normally ate and unnecessary waste could be reduced,” reported Cameron.
“I couldn’t afford to feed my kids this summer, and I am so grateful to Americans Helping Americans® and AMVETS Post 9-1-1,” stated one of the beneficiary parents.
AMVETS Post 9-1-1 also scheduled home deliveries for shut-ins to ensure those with the greatest need were taken care of—including a mother of 10 children who lives 32 miles from the distribution site and is managing health problems that require heart medication.
“Having the team bring boxes right to my door every week took an unbearable weight off my shoulders,” said the grateful woman.
Holiday Food
Also in Jefferson City, grant funding from Americans Helping Americans® enabled AMOS to purchase turkeys that were included in 330 food boxes for low-income households served by AMOS through its 29th annual “Christmas in Jefferson County” event.
Through the program, more than 1,000 individuals enjoyed a festive Christmas turkey dinner and all the trimmings, without worrying about blowing their weekly food budget.
Among them was Tammy and her family who were struggling financially on one income after an injury prevented her from continuing to work, leaving her husband as the sole breadwinner.
She reported to AMOS executive director Jean-Ann Washam that the gift of a turkey and a food box from Americans Helping Americans® “meant her family would actually be able to celebrate Christmas” last year.
Another recipient, Charles, a grandfather who brought relatives to the event after his son lost his job and the family fell on hard times. He wanted to ensure that, despite their hardship, the family would still be able to enjoy a Christmas dinner. Charles called the holiday food ‘a blessing’ for his family.
Cameron noted that their experiences illustrate why holiday food assistance is so important for Appalachian families when times are hard.
“It is more than just an extra meal,” said Cameron. “It allows a family under financial pressure to participate in a celebration that might otherwise disappear.”
In Tazewell County, Virginia, our partner there, the Labor of Love Mission (LOLM) continued its 23-year tradition of providing holiday food support to low-income families in the community.
Thanks to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans®, more than 900 children, adults and senior citizens enjoyed a turkey dinner with all the fixings. Following that, at Christmas LOLM provided sliced ham and side dishes to more than 850 individuals.
Additionally, at the LOLM “White Christmas” event, every one of the children attending the event received a brand-new winter coat, blanket and dental kit, along with the holiday food.
Other partners of Americans Helping Americans® including BCPIA, LAMP and CMO, also carried out local holiday distributions using their community relationships to reach the elderly, families without transportation and households facing sudden crises.
“Each of our partners organized their assistance differently, but all relied on detailed local knowledge,” commented Cameron.
“They all knew which families lacked transportation, which older adults were isolated and which households were experiencing a sudden job loss, illness or housing crisis.
“That knowledge allowed holiday support to reach people who might never appear at a large regional distribution.”
“Cash grants allow partners to purchase items missing from donated inventory, while preassembled Americans Helping Americans® food boxes make large-scale distribution possible,” Cameron points out.
Food boxes
In Beattyville, CMO operates a monitored, 24-hour food distribution site serving residents of Lee County, where a family can sign out one food box in a time of need.
CMO president/CEO Cindy Evanoff reported that without the 700 food boxes it receives every other month (4,200 total annually), many families would otherwise go hungry.
With support from Americans Helping Americans®, BCPIA also delivers monthly boxes and hot meals to bedridden residents and elderly and disabled adults lacking transportation and the ability to get out to food distribution sites.
Looking Ahead
For 2027, Cameron is anticipating that food prices for home consumption will continue to rise.
“We are anticipating grocery prices will significantly increase due to inflation and increased production and shipping costs caused by the Middle East conflict,” he reported in September.
“The food banks we sponsor are already in some of the most low-income places in America where family budgets are already at their brink.
“Our grants allow these food banks to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables as well as fresh meat such as chicken, cow, and pig.”
He noted that BCPIA has lost other federal and nongovernmental food assistance but is still able to serve the community because of support from Americans Helping Americans®.
Additionally, Americans Helping Americans® plans to greatly increase the number of food boxes delivered this upcoming year.
Cameron noted that this past year Americans Helping Americans® shipped a total of 16,376 food boxes to our partners for distribution to those most in need in their communities, but in the coming year he intends to increase that number to 28,200 to meet the growing needs in the communities we serve.
