Food insecurity is the consistent lack of enough food for everyone in a household
 to live an active, healthy life. According to 2018 data from the Feeding America website (https://www.feedingamerica.org), the percentage of food insecurity in Kentucky is 14.8%. Moreover, the food insecurity rate is 12.8% in Fayette County (www.feedingamerica.org).

In order to address this problem, the Fayette County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences shared Hunger in Kentucky lessons with the Black and Williams West End Community Empowerment Project Youth Participants in Fayette County. FCS lead session which included defining definition of food insecurity, engagement of youth conversation on how their community and themselves are affected by food insecurity, facilitated an interactive hunger in Kentucky activity card game and concluded with youth brainstorming ideas to help address food insecurity with the program and community.

During this program held on April 3^rd, 2023, all 16-youth participated throughout the whole event. Over 85% of youth participating were minorities. Out of 16 youth participants, over 50% vocalized at some point in their lives they have been affected by food insecurity. After all youth participated in interactive card game, over 60 % voiced a better understanding of even with resources available in the state of Kentucky there are still food insecurity and healthy/nutrition foods limitations to meet the demands of what a household needs to be daily nutrition guideline recommendations. 100% of the youth participated in brainstorming short-, medium- and long-term goals to help address and combat food insecurity. Short term goal included: Bagging up any leftover food that the youth receive from commodity boxes and bags that they do not need and finding people close by the center in communities that may need them. Medium term goal included: Establishing a day once a week or once a month where all the youth get together and make Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches or deli meat sandwiches to go with adult volunteers and parents to distribute and some homeless shelter here in Lexington Kentucky. Long term goals from these youth included: Getting funding to start up a small food bank that is ran and operated by youth.

I look forward to following up with the program director of this youth empowerment program on any further food insecurity implementation that the youth have done.