Facing Hunger Foodbank covers 17 counties across the tri-state region where West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio meet, centered on the Huntington metro and Cabell County and reaching into Wayne, Logan, Mingo, and the surrounding counties. It feeds about 150,000 people a year and distributes more than 14 million pounds of food through 250-plus partner agencies. Cyndi Kirkhart has served as CEO since 2014. It is a member of the Feeding America network.
Facing Hunger Foodbank sources food at scale and distributes it across 17 counties in three states through more than 250 partner agencies, plus its own programs and mobile distributions. The tri-state footprint reflects how the Huntington metro and the surrounding Appalachian coalfields sprawl across the WV-KY-OH borders. The region’s deep poverty and the opioid crisis have both deepened food insecurity here.
Cyndi Kirkhart has served as CEO since 2014. A Huntington-area native with degrees from Marshall University and an MBA from Ohio University, she has decades of experience across marketing, social activism, and the helping professions. She has built Facing Hunger into a tri-state network reaching about 150,000 people a year.
The 17-county service area covers the tri-state region around Huntington: Cabell, Wayne, Logan, Mingo, and surrounding counties in West Virginia, plus adjacent counties in Kentucky and Ohio. This is the heart of central Appalachian coal country, where economic decline, isolation, and the opioid epidemic have combined to produce some of the highest food-insecurity rates in the country.
Yes. Facing Hunger Foodbank is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals; the food bank notes that each dollar can provide several meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through facinghunger.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Facing Hunger Foodbank covers the southwestern tri-state corner around Huntington, while Mountaineer Food Bank covers most of the rest of West Virginia. For anyone in the Huntington area or the WV-KY-OH border counties, Facing Hunger is the lead organization.
250+ agencies across 17 tri-state counties.
Food brought into remote Appalachian communities.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food assistance for older adults on fixed incomes.
Sources: Facing Hunger Foodbank website (facinghunger.org), GuideStar, and Herald-Dispatch and WCHS coverage of the organization and CEO Cyndi Kirkhart. We are not affiliated with Facing Hunger Foodbank and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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