APPALACHIA – (December 17, 2021) Kentucky State Police Troopers Scottie Pennington and Richie Baxter and Detective Ryan Loudermilk surprised staff at Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Grateful Bread Food Pantry with a donation of 1,041 pounds of food to help local families this winter.

“We are so grateful for the generosity and support we receive from the local community,” said Sherri Barnett, manager of CAP’s pantry in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. “There are so many families in need in our area and this donation will make a difference.”

The officers, two from Rockcastle County and one from Laurel County, saw news coverage of how Grateful Bread donated to help the Garrard County Food Pantry that burned down right before Thanksgiving. This was a way to give back to a community partner that was helping meet needs in Eastern Kentucky.

“It was less than two weeks from Thanksgiving and the food bank in Garrard County suffered a total loss after a fire. We just knew we had to help,” Barnett said. CAP’s headquarters was located in Lancaster for many years. “We know the challenges of running a pantry day to day, and how the holiday season is such a critical time to make sure that families have food on the table. We knew we could help.”

Grateful Bread donated 5,000 pounds of food collected by students and staff at Rockcastle County Schools and Lexington Christian Academy during its annual Hunger Walk, an event that collects food and funds to address food insecurity so that no child goes hungry.

“It touched our hearts to know that troopers in our area, that are already doing so much to help the community, would donate food to our pantry,” Barnett added. “They love the community and look for ways to be involved in helping out. They wanted to make sure that we had what we needed to continue to help people in need in our area. We can’t say thank you enough.”