LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In 2020, Louisville Metro allocated $3.5 million for a grocery story in the city’s west end food desert.
Plans with the nonprofit that was awarded the bid fell through.
As the process restarts, Change Today, Change Tomorrow’s food justice program, Feed the West, is working to fill the void.
In a statement, Taylor Ryan, the founder and CEO of CTCT, says, “Initially, it was our understanding from the written and spoken message that Metro Council indicated this funding was earmarked for the Louisville Community Grocery. After reading the latest announcements, we have confirmed that the funding is being held hostage in a bidding process. This is disheartening, to say the least, considering the amount of work the co-op put in to even have this conversation brought to the table. Historically, this has happened to Black-led initiatives, so we are not surprised, though we are disappointed!”
Feed the West food justice advocate Everlean Abernathy spends every Tuesday packing, sorting and delivering fresh fruit, vegetables and meats to families in west Louisville’s food desert.
“My greeting is, you know, my name is Everlean and I’m from Feed the West and I’m here to deliver your food,” says Abernathy.
Abernathy packs the backseat and trunk of her SUV with donations.
“We do a little work to make sure we get it all because we don’t want to leave nothing,” says Abernathy.
The retired Jefferson County Public School physical plant manager joined Feed the West to give back to the community she was raised in.
“Probably a lot of people would probably be hungry and trying to find whatever assistance they could to get food, fresh produce and stuff since there’s only one Kroger store in the west end,” says Abernathy.
The small team’s grocery delivery service and pop up events are making a big difference.
Food justice advocate Anna Hayes says Feed the West provides 500 families with groceries weekly.
“Folks can just come. All we really need is a name and how many people are in your household and you can grab as much food as you need to feed your family,” says Hayes.
It’s another chance for Abernathy to do what she loves most, meeting and talking to people.
“I enjoy it, it is very, very rewarding because I can actually see that the people really enjoy it. They—they really like it and people call when they don’t get their food,” says Abernathy.
She always assures them that they are on the way.
In the statement, Ryan says the organization is staunchly against the bidding process and will not put in a bid. She encourages Metro Council to allocate future funds to all black-led fresh food projects who have a proven track record of success.