To help alleviate food insecurity in distressed Appalachian communities in Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia and elsewhere, with the help of our supporters from across the country, Americans Helping Americans® is planning on shipping 2,520 food boxes to our partners for distribution to those most needy in the areas they serve in September.

 “With safety nets failing we see our most vulnerable, children and the elders, at a greater risk of suffering from hunger,” stated Americans Helping Americans® Executive Director Cameron Krizek.

Each family food box will contain canned chili with beans, beef tamales, spaghetti, tuna, diced tomatoes, fruit cocktail and green beans, along with rice, mac ‘n cheese, peanut butter, applesauce, hot breakfast cereal and more – enough to feed a family of four for up to a week.

Because we acquire the nonperishable food items in large quantities from a distributor, we are able to purchase the boxes, weighing about 25 pounds, at the deeply discounted price of just $36, much less than at even a big box store.

Among our longtime partners which will be receiving food boxes is Big Creek People in Action in McDowell County, West Virginia, “one of the most economically depressed areas of the nation,” says its co-executive director Dyanne Springs, who has requested 420 boxes.

“Our families are challenged by poverty, lack of jobs and hunger,” she told us, adding that “30 percent of the children under the age of 18 face the risk of hunger in McDowell County.

“Our county is the most food insecure county in West Virginia with 22 percent of residents struggling to find a consistent stream of meals,” she noted.

And the reason why the supplemental food boxes are so critical to the neediest families they serve?

“Although many families in our area receive food stamps, sometimes they just don’t stretch through the whole month,” said Dyanne, who pointed out in July that “Just recently the food stamp program lowered the amount they give families to pre-pandemic levels.”

Following a previous food box distribution, Dyanne reported that “We receive all kinds of nice comments from people who appreciated what they were getting.

“Looking at the people who showed up at our distribution, it was clearly people who are simply trying to provide for their families.

“People who work in town at very low-paying jobs came, many grandparents who are having to raise their grandchildren stopped by, and families who receive food stamps, but needed some extra food came to pick up things.”