GEORGETOWN, Ky. — A longtime food pantry in Scott County is open during and after the holidays.
What You Need To Know
- The Amen House pantry in Georgetown is serving groceries this season
- They are providing food options for those in need over the holiday break
- For 34 years, the Amen House has provided food and resources to the community
- The Amen House will be closed on New Year's Day
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a large shipment of food from Feeding America’s God’s Pantry stops at the Amen House in Georgetown.
For 34 years, the Amen House has provided food and resources to the community. Chief operations officer Steven Budde has been with the organization for eight years and says things have expanded in that time.
“We changed our model from pre-made bags to letting them select whatever we have in the building. So we take a ticket out to the car and they get the select from whatever we currently have in the building,” Budde explained. “That accomplishes two things and makes sure they pick things that they’re going to use and that they’re not going to waste things that we give them that they don’t want to use,” he added.
Shelf-stable items like canned items, fresh produce, bread, milk, eggs, and much more are options.
Volunteers use a list to scan items from shelves into a database that keeps track of their stock.
“Our own inventory system here. So anytime we scan it now actually takes it out of inventory so we can track how much we’re not only how much we have in the building, but what rate it’s going out and so that we can make plans to replace it,” Budde said.
Last month, the Amen House offered meals for around 1,300 people for Thanksgiving. This month they’re continuing with operations the day after Christmas for families needing extra support.
“They don’t have to worry so much about the food that they’re getting and they can take the money that they would normally spend, maybe on buying groceries and other things, and use that for other things, maybe even for electricity or as gifts for their kids during the holidays,” he said.
Budde says while many people are on holiday break, there is no break from hunger.
“People are always trying to take care of their families during the holiday. So they are wanting to maybe buy gifts and stuff for their families. And so the financial pressure increases during the holiday seasons. so we can help with that because we provide food,” Budde said.
The Amen House will be closed on New Year's Day
Helping nearly 60 households a day, the Amen House mission shines during the season.