LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — God's Pantry CEO, Board of Directors, and an anonymous donor knew that the facility would eventually run out of space, creating a limitation on aiding those in need.
“We were going to get to a point where we were not going to be able to distribute the food that is greatly needed by the 265,000 people across central and eastern Kentucky,” President & CEO, Michael Halligan said.
They took the gift they were given, bought a 127,000 square foot warehouse, and refurbished it with donated money. On Tuesday, as they celebrate their 70th year of helping food-insecure Kentuckians, they welcomed about 100 people to the facility’s ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Welcome to God’s Pantry Food Bank,” Halligan said.
God’s Pantry services more those 265,000 Kentuckians with up to 50,000,000 meals annually. They needed this new building to continue that work.
“We would literally be turning down donations of food right now,” Halligan said of the old, smaller location.
A guided tour of the facility showed many of its highlights such as additional freezer and cooler space and a more efficient shipping and receiving dock. The overall capacity allows for more storage of all the non-perishable items that are shipped out to local food banks daily.
“It’s transformational,” Halligan said of the warehouse. "Should we need to, we can grow to 60,000,000 meals (annually). Should we need to continue to grow, we can support up to 315,000 people rather than the 265,000 we support right now."
It’s ironic that he wants to keep growing the operation, because the real goal is to get to a point when no one is in need of this type of assistance.
“It’s unfortunate and it’s heartbreaking to have to do this work, but we are going to do this work until it is no longer necessary,” Halligan concluded.
