LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new initiative to encourage more volunteerism and donations to a local food bank is underway. Dare to Care Food Bank and a Louisville family formed a partnership to shine a light on the topics of food insecurity.
Dare to Care Food Bank is located on the West End in Louisville and it serves 13 counties across Kentuckiana. There, Jack Banbury is starting an initiative to generate more money and volunteer hours for the food bank that serves millions of meals, with the goal of eliminating food insecurity.
Banbury spends time at Dare to Care’s Community Kitchen in Louisville once a week. He has more time because the 66-year-old is recently retired from a sales job.
He volunteers his time by bagging hundreds of oranges, and sometimes even measuring cheese with a team of volunteers.
“Kathleen and I, we come here every Monday from 8am-11am,” Banbury of he and another volunteer.
Banbury has volunteered at the food bank for nearly three years, and says he hardly ever misses a shift. He knows putting fresh fruit in bags is essential for hungry children and families.
It’s why Banbury felt called to team up with Dare to Care for a new initiative during the months of April and May.
“Every volunteer hour will be matched with $5, so it’s a win, win, win!” said Banbury.
The Banbury family moved to Louisville in 1982 with volunteering at the core of their heart. They’ll plan to match hours up to 2,000 during the two-month span, donating it to Dare to Care. So far, the initiative has raised nearly $5,000 with 1000 volunteer hours.
“With three of us [here], we got it down pat. And the thing about this job here is—it’s like immediate impact,” Banbury said. “When you get the list of where they’re delivering, this would be where they’re going this week and each site gets this many. So this many children are getting this food.”
According to Dare to Care Food Bank, 1 in 7 people across Kentuckiana struggles with hunger. Which is why Alexus Richardson, the communications director with the food bank, says the work is so critical.
“Last year alone, we distributed 19 million meals. We’re a team of 75 so we really depend on volunteers,” said Richardson.
The initiative will go on until tomorrow, May 31st. The Banbury family hopes to do this year to year during the spring. You can get involved with Dare to Care Food Bank volunteer opportunities here.