KINGWOOD — The Preston County Caring Council and Food for Preston (FFP) are considering adding several new feeding programs.
Tammy Laney, director of FFP and Nicole Davis, director of the council, cited transportation problems for some Preston County seniors and families who are unable to get to one of the county’s 11 food pantries. That led to discussion of a mobile food pantry.
“It’s too soon to say we are going to do this, but we are having talks,” Davis said. She said a mobile food pantry would require a partnership between the Mountaineer Food Bank, FFP and the Caring Council. Mountaineer Food Bank, “would bring in a large truck,” Laney said. “It would go places where that have no food pantry or stores. People would go to the truck to get boxes of food.”
“Mobile Pantries provide food to ‘food deserts’ where food accessibility is limited and/or scarce. Fresh, healthy food tends to have a short shelf life. To make sure food gets to our clients as quickly and fresh as possible, they are transported to selected locations and distributed by Mountaineer Food Bank,” according to the Mountaineer Food Bank website.
A mobile food pantry is not the only feeding program the Caring Council is interested in helping to provide.
“We’re also looking into the summer feeding program the Mountaineer Food Bank runs,” Davis said.
She said if initiated the program would partner with local churches and the library to have meals for children at small, satellite locations. Smaller feeding sites would allow them to reach more children.
Laney said other potential programs are The Senior Silver Hug, which provides food boxes for seniors, and Veteran’s Table, which provides monthly food boxes for veterans. There are no income guidelines for Veteran’s Table boxes.
“Our food pantries serve 1,650 people each month,” Laney said. “We don’t have the numbers for this year yet, but at the end of last year we were serving weekend meals for 360 students.”
Davis said she would like to see increased awareness of services and needs.
“We have working people who don’t qualify for a lot of government assistance,” she said. “But they are still struggling and have needs.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to Food For Preston can do so by calling 304-379-3519 or emailing coordinator@foodforpreston.org. Checks can be mailed to: Tammy Laney, P.O. Box 1175, Kingwood, WV 26537.
Donations to the Preston County Caring Council can be dropped off at 105 W. High St. , Kingwood, or call 304-329-1968 for information on giving.
To donate to the Mountaineer Food Bank go to www.mountaineerfoodbank.org
