Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland covers 42 counties across central, south-central, and western Kentucky from its headquarters in Elizabethtown. It distributes food through a network of more than 220 charitable agencies and 200 schools, and its Food Rescue Program, which recovers surplus food from retailers and producers, is one of its strengths. Founded in 1982, it is led by Executive Director Charles Dennis, who took the role at the start of 2024. It is a member of the Feeding America network.
Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland sources food at scale and distributes it across 42 counties through more than 220 charitable agencies and 200 schools. Its Food Rescue Program is a particular strength, recovering surplus food from grocers and producers that would otherwise go to waste and routing it to people in need. The school partnerships extend its reach to children directly.
Charles Dennis became Executive Director on January 1, 2024, succeeding longer-tenured leadership. He leads an organization that has spent more than four decades building a wide rural and small-city network across the heartland of Kentucky, and that has leaned into food rescue as a way to stretch limited resources.
The 42-county service area covers central, south-central, and western Kentucky, from the Elizabethtown and Fort Knox area out across a wide rural stretch. It is a region of small cities and farming communities where food insecurity is steady and grocery access is uneven, the kind of territory where school-based distribution and food rescue do a lot of the work.
Yes. Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member operating since 1982. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Its food-rescue model and bulk buying make donations efficient.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through feedingamericaky.org. Volunteers sort and pack food, including rescued surplus, and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland covers the central, south-central, and western counties, while Dare to Care serves the Louisville metro and God's Pantry covers central and eastern Kentucky. For anyone in the Elizabethtown area or western Kentucky, this is the lead organization.
220+ charitable agencies across 42 counties.
Food distributed through 200 schools.
Recovering surplus food from retailers and producers.
Direct food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Sources: Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland website (feedingamericaky.org), ProPublica (EIN 61-1043635), and the organization's published leadership and program information. We are not affiliated with Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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