WEST LIBERTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Operation Sharing Program went into full effect in Morgan County today as the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) partnered with the Hazel Green Food Project to distribute food and essential items to community members.
Cars lined up as a scene of sharing took over the parking lot of Index Church in West Liberty.
“If you’re in line, you’re going to get food,” said Hazel Green Food Project president Nicky Stacy.
Pallets of food emptied as a line of cars filled up.
“One thing just led to another and here we are, but we never dreamed we would have this big of a turnout.”
Stacy reached out to Aaron Thoms, who manages the Operation Sharing Program for CAP. Thoms happily obliged.
“You know, we realize that the dollar don’t stretch nearly as far as it does,” Thoms said. “So what we’re doing is just trying to make someone’s day a little bit brighter.
Hazel Green already hosts distributions in Wolfe County twice a week. Stacy shared that they’ve served families from around 25 counties through that distribution. Tuesday’s giveaway holds a different significance, however, as we near the summer months.
“We’re very concerned about the kids this summer, going without those two extra meals that the school provides,” Stacy said. “We’re wanting to do more community giveaways like this to make food more accessible for families.”
Along with food and drinks, volunteers gave out other items, like cleaning supplies and movies, to entertain the kids. Distributions like these are open to the public, with no questions asked.
“It’s not our place to judge,” Stacy said. “You just tell us and we’ll stick a number on your car and send you through.”
“This is our home,” Thoms added. “This is where we live at too. So we’re in it for the long haul.”
“People talk about Appalachian people,” Stacy said. “But we all read the same book, and it says ‘love your neighbor,’ and that’s exactly what we do. We love our neighbors.”
Tuesday’s event saw a total of 410 cars serving 651 families from 10 counties. There are more distributions scheduled for later this year.
To learn more about these distributions, you can visit the Christian Appalachian Project website here. You can also find Hazel Green Food Project on Facebook here.
