By Heather Duty, Mingo Messenger
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The Facing Hunger Food Bank, a vital resource for many in the Mingo County area, is grappling with increased food insecurity rates amidst decreasing federal commodities available for distribution.
At a recent Williamson City Council meeting, on Sept. 11, Cynthia D. Kirkhart, the chief executive officer of Facing Hunger, presented data indicating that as of 2023, the food insecurity rate in Mingo County stood at 20.3 percent, with 25.7 percent of children affected. This represents an uptick from previous years.
“Last year, the food insecurity rate increased to 23.5 percent for adults and an overall rate of 31.4 percent for children,” she said.
Kirkhart explained the food bank has been significantly impacted by federal changes.
“Federal commodities for us became very limited starting in April, and we lost about one-third of our food to distribute to those commodity programs,” she said.
Read more: https://www.mingomessenger.com/news/article_b4cbf49d-356c-4b1c-8c4b-ae63d6c0392b.html
