Gods Pantry

Debra’s Social $timulus Presents “Cooks for a Cause” to Benefit God’s Pantry Food Bank

Normally filled with hundreds of pallets of food for families in need, this Friday night, God’s Pantry Food Bank will look quite different and will heat up with the smells of some delicious cuisine as Debra’s Social $timulus brings its 10th event, “Cooks for a Cause,” to the Food Bank’s Jaggie Fox Way distribution center.

“Cooks for a Cause” will have five teams of five “home cooks” scrambling for one hour to prepare a delicious meal from a mystery box of basic ingredients that a God’s Pantry Food Bank client might typically have access to when visiting one of four emergency food pantries in Lexington. The 25 cooks do not come with a culinary pedigree like those you might see on television’s “Top Chef,” but are Lexingtonians from a variety of backgrounds who really enjoy cooking at home and have an interest in helping the community.

“We are so excited that Debra has come to us with this great event idea,” Food Bank CEO Marian Guinn said. “The Social $timulus events have become great attention-getters for some incredible causes and movements in our community these past few years and we’re pleased that this event will draw attention to the work we’re doing to feed an growing number of families in need here in Lexington and across Central and Eastern Kentucky each day.”

While guests watch the cooking showdown, they will be invited to enjoy a cup of piping hot soup prepared by our distinguished chef judges — Ouita Michel, Beth Hanna, Mamadou Savane, Javier Lanza, Mark Smith, Jill Bakehorn, and Cooper Vaughan — and served by culinary arts students from The Lexington School.

The event, like each of the nine previous Social $timulus events, is free and open to the public. Debra’s Social $timulus was started by Debra Hensley, a local State Farm Insurance agent and Urban County Council member, in 2008 to bring Lexington citizens together and draw attention to great local causes and help support local businesses in the troubled economy.

“I’m very excited about our next Social $timulus event,” organizer Debra Hensley said. “We’ve been all over our community – North, South, East and West. This is a very unique opportunity to see an outstanding nonprofit which does wonderful things across our state.”

Guests will have the chance to support the Food Bank through a unique silent auction which will allow the donor to see and utilize the great purchasing power the Food Bank possesses. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the cooking competition gets underway at 6 p.m.

Thank You to Our January 2012 Volunteers!

Thank you to the following volunteers for giving of your time and energy during the month of January. Altogether, 398 people served 1,230 hours in our Lexington distribution center, at a total value of $26,273 to the food bank. The time spent sorting food drive donations and repacking bulk food product is an invaluable part of our operation and we couldn’t do the work we do without dedicated volunteers.

Individuals: 135 people participated in our evening and weekend volunteer sessions.

Families: 7 families from around Central Kentucky participated in our monthly Family Day.

Groups:

• Alpha Phi Omega (University of Kentucky)
• Bluegrass Association of Insurance Women
• Bryan Station High School
• Central Baptist Church’s Baby Boomers Class
• Central Baptist Church’s Barnabas Class
• Clark Material Handling Company
• Council on International Educational Exchange
• Darley Flying Start (Pictured)
• Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
• Eastern Kentucky University Community Service Center
• Jessamine County 4H Teen Council
• Kentucky Cattleman’s Association
• Kentucky Department of Agriculture – Natural Resource Conservation Services
• Kentucky YMCA Youth Association
• Lansdowne Elementary School Honor Society
• The Learning Center (FCPS)
• Lexington South Lions Club
• Lexington Young Professionals Association
• Providence Christian Academy
• SAI Center
• St. Martha’s Episcopal Church
• Temple Adath Israel & Ohavay Zion Synagogue
• University of Kentucky Communications Class

Change is Happening! What’s New at our Lexington Facility?

Next week, God’s Pantry Food Bank is starting major renovation projects at its Lexington headquarters on Jaggie Fox Way in conjunction with our Come to the Table capital campaign. We are extremely excited to begin seeing physical transformations based on the success of this campaign and the generous financial commitments from individuals, corporations and foundations who have pledged support to the campaign.

With the renovation projects, come some major changes to our daily operations. For the next several months, beginning this week, the majority of our operations will be moving to our Winchester facility. Our volunteer opportunities will be very limited during construction as well, in an effort to keep our volunteers safe and preserve the quality and food safety standards. Below is detailed information on what will be happening to our warehouse and how it will affect our supporters.

Facility Upgrades

Greater Refrigeration Capacity:
Increased refrigeration has been a major part of the Come to the Table campaign. It will enable God’s Pantry Food Bank to navigate shifts in the type of donated food now made available to its clients. In the food banking world, dry and canned food donations are decreasing. The good news is that donations of fresh produce, meat and dairy items—more nutritious food than what has previously been available—have increased.

The challenge is that we are sometimes unable to accept perishable food because of our limited refrigeration capacity. If perishable donations exceed our present available refrigeration space, God’s Pantry Food Bank has to pay to arrange off-site storage, or create a special delivery route immediately to ensure the product can be distributed within 24 hours because of storage limits.

Adequate refrigeration will enable us to access more available refrigerated and frozen product and gain precious time to move it to our agencies. The tough part comes in finding the funds to make it a reality.

After spending two years researching the proper size, configuration, and supplier, we have identified a construction company that can build a four-compartment, racked refrigeration-freezer unit that can accommodate 564 pallets at temperatures ranging from 0 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Expanded Volunteer Work Space:
  Generous and committed volunteers play a critical role in our efficient operation, but our lack of volunteer space limits our growth. We will add rooms over our current Welcome Center and Volunteer Food Sort areas to create a larger, dedicated volunteer space to accommodate the volunteer resources required to meet demand. This addition will allow us to move our current food repackaging operations off the warehouse floor into a temperature-controlled environment and to a space able to accommodate up to 60 volunteers at one time. It will also give us dedicated space for volunteers and community groups to conduct meetings and trainings and simply take a break during long work sessions.

Additional Office Space:
We will outfit the unfinished 1,000 square feet of our Lexington location’s second-floor office area to create new office and meeting spaces for our dedicated staff.

How will the changes affect our staff and volunteers?

• Beginning in February, the majority of our daily warehouse operations will be moving to our Winchester facility. A limited number of operations staff will continue working from our Lexington facility to assist in maintaining our direct service programs in Fayette County.
• Our volunteer operations will undergo a temporary “makeover” during the construction period, which is expected to be complete by June 30.
• All repack sessions have gone on temporary hiatus.* This means that no volunteer sessions will be held on Tuesday evenings or Saturday afternoons for the duration of construction.
• Food sort sessions will continue for the duration of construction, but have been moved to another part of our warehouse. Details are available on our Frequently Asked Questions page, but volunteers should note that entrance to the building has been relocated to the ramp at the loading docks immediately behind the Welcome Center entrance. Restroom access is very limited as well. We will limit our volunteer sessions to two hours on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and will not be scheduling daytime work groups during construction.

While the construction period will create inconveniences for our staff, member agencies and dedicated volunteers, we are very excited about the incredible opportunities the expansion will bring to our organization this summer and look forward to welcoming back our dedicated supporters to our “new spaces” in July!

Donor Spotlight: Ruth Mayes Walton

It started with one $15 gift to God’s Pantry Food Bank in March 1993. The check was from Ruth Walton, a former bank teller at First Security Bank. Originally from Carlisle, she was a quiet woman who lived in a one bedroom condominium in downtown Lexington. She married one of her bank customers, Owsley. They had no children. Owsley passed away and Ruth also lost her sister, Bess.

The $15 checks from Ruth kept coming—almost every month. In 1997, the monthly checks increased to $25.

While settling Bess’s estate, Ruth befriended Bonnie Kittinger, an attorney. They became close, visiting almost weekly. Kittinger said Ruth never talked about her wealth and lived very frugally, remaining in the one bedroom apartment at Hanover Towers she and Owsley had shared.

What Bonnie remembers were her weekly Sunday visits with Ms. Walton. She and her husband, Larry, would often take Ruth to lunch, as she needed help getting around in her later years. Dudley’s and The Merrick Inn were her favorite spots and she enjoyed the opportunity to get out and socialize.

Ruth’s regular checks to God’s Pantry Food Bank abruptly stopped in 2004. She died in 2006. And that would seem to be the end of the story. But Ruth had other plans.

As she made her own estate plan, Ruth consulted with a trust officer of the bank where she had worked, which had since transferred from Bank One and then again to J.P. Morgan Chase. She created a trust and designated four beneficiaries, including God’s Pantry Food Bank, in her final plans.

In 2007, checks from Ruth Walton started coming again to God’s Pantry Food Bank. The first check from her settled estate wasn’t $15, or even $25. It was more than $3,000.

Every quarter, the checks continue to come, as Ruth Walton directed in her will and trust. God’s Pantry Food Bank continues to benefit from Ruth Walton’s faithful generosity, years after her passing. Often, a single check from her estate is capable of providing more than 20,000 meals to hungry Kentuckians.

In life, Ruth gave what she could and made a difference. In 2003, God’s Pantry Food Bank honored Ms. Walton with a Daily Bread Society Award, recognizing her plans to include the food bank in her will. No one knew the full impact of her decision.

“I still miss her,” said Bonnie. “She had a delightful wit.”

Ruth’s wit may be a happy memory, but her legacy of generosity endures, feeding thousands of families. Her quiet caring lives on.

A gift in your will is the simplest way to remember God’s Pantry Food Bank in your estate plan. There is no cost during your lifetime, and your estate may qualify for a charitable deduction. If you have already included us in your Will or Estate Plan, please let us know. We’d like to thank you and welcome you into our Daily Bread Society. For more information on Planned Giving programs or the Daily Bread Society, please contact Rebecca Wallace, at 859.288.5325.

God’s Pantry Food Bank Announces Formation of Morehead Regional Advisory Board

God’s Pantry Food Bank is pleased to announce the formation of its Morehead Regional Advisory Board. Comprised of concerned local leaders who either live and/or work in Bath, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Lewis, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan and Rowan counties, the Regional Advisory Board was formed to assist the staff and board of God’s Pantry Food Bank in making decisions and overseeing the addition of a regional distribution center in the area in the coming year.

2012 OFFICERS
Keith Kappes, Publisher, The Morehead News, Chair (pictured)
Ben Caudill, Vice President, Kentucky Bank*, Vice Chair
Tracy Williams, Executive Director, Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Secretary

2012 BOARD MEMBERS
Jeffrey Fannin, Pastor, Bluebank First Church of God
Cindy Faulkner, First Federal Savings and Loan
Jeffrey R. Liles, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Services, Morehead State University
Dr. Kim Williams, St. Claire Regional Medical Center

*Ben Caudill will serve as the RAB representative to the God’s Pantry Food Bank Board of Directors.