On any given Tuesday in the small town of Magnolia, cars line up outside Magnolia Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Inside, Shepherd’s Pie Food Pantry hums with volunteers sorting produce, and packing boxes.
Magnolia spans three counties: Green, Hart and LaRue, and is considered a geographical food desert. For many neighbors, a trip to the grocery store means a long drive and extra gas money. But in this community where resources can feel far away, neighbors step up for one another. “If you come through and you need food, we give you food,” Executive Director Tammy Henderson said.
That sense of compassion and care spreads. Some neighbors pick up and take food to others who can’t make the trip. Kenny, known as Dale to most folks, delivers bags to five people who are homebound. He also receives food to supplement his groceries on a tight budget after retiring from the state highway department, where he worked as a parts runner for 30 years. He’s proud of the work he did then and the work he’s doing now to improve his health – with support from Shepherd’s Pie. After losing more than 100 pounds and managing his diabetes more successfully, he credits access to healthier food as part of the reason he’s “doing great.”
Through its partnership with Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland, Shepherd’s Pie ensures families walk away with at least one to two supplemental meals per week, and often nutritious options they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.
Henderson knows the difference this food makes personally. Years ago, when injuries and illness hit her household all at once, food was delivered to her door through her neighbors serving at Shepherd’s Pie. Fresh vegetables sustained her husband through his cancer treatment. Boxes of food carried her family through days when there simply wasn’t enough money.
After her husband passed, she turned her gratitude into action, pouring herself into volunteering. Today, she helps lead the same ministry that once carried her family through unimaginable hardship.
“Shepherd’s Pie Food Pantry,” she said, “feeds the mind, body and soul.”
Through every box packed and every mile driven, Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland helps make it possible, ensuring that in even rural corners of Kentucky, hope travels the distance. For more information about Shepherd’s Pie, click here.
