FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A soup kitchen and shelter that has served Kentucky for 40 years is in need. ACCESS Soup Kitchen and Men's Shelter has been hit hard after the loss of a $20,000-a-year grant from the United Way of the Bluegrass.
ACCESS feeds around 100 people per day. The food is for men, women, and children. But the shelter may be forced to close at the end of the month.
"If this place went away, I'm not sure what would happen with these community members who depend on us every single day," said board member Lisa Mitchell-Hargis.
Hargis says the shelter's monthly operating budget went from $20,000 to $24,500, making it difficult to produce meals, not to mention other resources.
"We want to help them get into proper housing, we want to help them get on their feet. We don't just want to be a band-aid," said Hargis.
Once in the same shoes of those displaced here, ACCESS director of operations Brian Pedigo describes what it would mean if the place had to shut down.
"It would be a huge blow to the community if we were to shut the doors. Many people would go without food and the residents that we house 24 hours a day would be out on the street with no place to go," said Pedigo.
Pedigo is down to two full-time employees due to a lack of funding.
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