Every morning, Charlie Petree gets up and makes his way to his little kitchen to make a pot of coffee. After getting his first sip, he pours some cereal into a bowl, coats it with milk and takes a glass of juice.

Petree, 65, has God’s Pantry to thank for his morning ritual. Every month, his cereal and juice come from the Lexington-based food bank, which provides nourishment to hundreds of Laurel Countians every year.

It’s help Petree greatly appreciates.

“I just get a whole lot of good stuff,” he said. “It’s a whole lot of added bonus.”

God’s Pantry food stuffs are distributed by Come-Unity Cooperative Care in Laurel County. The co-op participates in two of God’s Pantry’s programs, one that provides a box of food for senior citizens every month and one for families who need food on an emergency basis. A family of four qualifies for emergency help if their income doesn’t exceed $2,238 per month. Those qualifying for the senior program must earn a maximum of $1,107 per month — though there is already a waiting list to participate.

Petree is one of 216 senior citizens who receive the box of food, which is filled with staples like cheese, pasta, peanut butter, evaporated milk, canned meat and fruit and veggies.

Brenda Morgan, C.C.C.’s executive director, helps distribute the food.

“We hear all the time how grateful people are,” she said. “I can’t thank God’s Pantry enough.”

The charity has been in operation since 1955.

“Mim Hunt was a Lexington resident who started the pantry by giving away homemade deli sandwiches out of her car,” said Mandy Brajuha, God’s Pantry external relations coordinator.

Soon, Hunt had her friends helping with the cause and, since, it has grown into the largest food bank in Kentucky, servicing 49 eastern Kentucky counties and giving away 13 million pounds of food last year.

Laurel County received 363,359 of those pounds.

The food comes from food manufacturers, grocery stores, farmers, the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture’s Commodity Supplement-al Food Program, and America’s Second Har-vest, which receives food from manufacturers like Kellogg’s, Nabisco and Kraft.

“A lot of companies have an overrun of their products,” Brajuha ex-plained. “Over the holidays, for example, they’ll make Captain Crunch with green and red berries. After the holidays, they pull that stuff off the shelf but it’s still good. That’s the stuff we’ll see.”

At deeply discounted prices, the food is then purchased from the food bank by local agencies like C.C.C.

“In calendar year 2007, Come-Unity Cooperative Care accessed 62,183 pounds of food from God’s Pantry Food Bank at a cost of $2,338.00,” Brajuha said. “If that same food had been purchased through a retail outlet, the cost would have been $93,274.50. Quite a savings.”

Though 11,434 Laurel Countians received food last year, God’s Pantry would like to give more.

“We gave away about 32 pounds per person to Laurel County but our average is 52 pounds per person,” said Marian Fish Guinn, chief executive officer. “Our goal is to be providing 84 pounds per person.”

That goal is getting harder and harder to attain, however.

Food and fuel are costing the food bank more, and more people are needing its services; already food bank numbers show there are 270,000 people living below the poverty level in the region the bank serves.

Morgan said she is likewise seeing more people who need the pantry’s help.

“I’m seeing working families who are just struggling with their bills,” she said. “We’ve had some people come in who have lost their jobs and they’re having to ask for help for the first time.”

Morgan’s demand has increased so much God’s Pantry has started delivering food to C.C.C., rather than having local volunteers pick it up from an agency in Corbin.

“I’m requesting so much more and need more,” Morgan said. “But it goes out as fast as it goes back in. I’ve never seen the pantry this low.”

Moreover, Guinn calculated the food bank’s costs are skyrocketing. Items like eggs have gone up 60 percent when compared to last year’s prices. Peanut butter has risen by 50 percent, as has pasta. Fuel costs have risen by 33 percent.

“We don’t see that changing,” Guinn said. “We are ramping it up to deal with incredible increases in demand. In times like this private support is critical in bridging that gap.”

To donate to or volunteer, call God’s Pantry Food Bank at (859) 255-6592 or Come-Unity Cooperative Care at 864-2351.



Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@ sentinel-echo.com.