Most Americans have heard the phrase “to infinity and beyond”.  It was confidently uttered by Buzz Lightyear in the first installment of Disney Pixar’s Toy Story franchise that has spawned three sequels spanning 25 years.  Well, infinity represents something without bounds and nothing really lasts that long.Warm Blessings Soup Kitchen in Elizabethtown Kentucky hopes their new commercial side-by-side freezer will have a long and productive life span nonetheless.  Because of it’s shiny new appearance and abundance of buttons and gadgets, it was loving named Buzz.  The naming of dutiful appliances, as you will read, is a long running tradition at Warm Blessings.  In May of 2020, just as the COVID-19 Pandemic was causing record-breaking numbers of citizens to wonder where there next meal would come from, one of the faithful freezers at Hardin County’s only community kitchen experienced a catastrophic breakdown. A Facebook post came my way that read… 

“Y’all…please say a prayer.  Our poor freezer, Phoebe, let this world today.  We have doubled the amount of guests we serve weekly, so we are in great need of storage space for the frozen food we purchase from Feeding America.If you know of anyone who has an extra freezer or would willing to donate one, these are the dimensions of Phoebe.H 59”, W28”.  You can either message us or give Dawn a call at xxx-xxx-xxxx.God bless Phoebe and thanks for her service…She was a good gal!

Upon reading the heartfelt plea, I felt compelled to use my position as Community Outreach Coordinator for Kentucky State University (KYSU) to assist this worthwhile not-for-profit entity.  I contacted Dawn Cash, the only full time employee, and learned more of the services provided to residents of Elizabethtown and surrounding communities.While the immediate crisis had been averted thanks to other donations, I learned their larger freezer, at least twenty years old, too was on its last leg.  Nicknamed “Woody” because of the homemade wooden latch that had long ago been added to keep the door closed, it like the other main character Toy Story, was showing its age.  Wear and tear was seen not in the form stitches, but rather dents, dings, constant breakdowns, and the signature homemade wooden latch.

I contacted Joni Nelson, who oversees the KYSU Small Farmer Grant Program.After relaying the information I had acquired, she and I agreed Warm Blessings qualified for the food security emphasis category.  Working closely with Feeding America and preparing produce donated by private individuals including small farmers even further linked the connection to the grant directives.  I relayed the electronic application to Dawn and assisted with the June 1 submission deadline of the completed form.  Additionally, I provided clarification to a designee of the selection committee regarding a couple of questions not specifically tailored to not-for-profit organizations.  Follow up communication with Joni in June revealed the $5K grant was awarded while subsequent calls with Dawn confirmed “Buzz” had been installed in July.Pictures confirm it is in full use and serving an essential role during these unprecedented times.  During a phone interview, I learned Warm Blessings typically serve 1500 meals a month.  During the height of the pandemic, when unemployment checks were delayed, individuals who had never before sought such services, were doing so out of necessity and in record numbers. Stimulus checks were helping with fixed expenses like rent, mortgage payments, electric bills and the like, but little fund, if any, remained for groceries.  Upwards of 6000 meals a month were being served through this small facility.  No doubt the extra opening and closing of the aged freezers contributed to their early demises.

While the number of meals has now somewhat normalized back to traditional pre- COVID numbers due to the reopening of much of the economy as well as improvements to unemployment processing, the soup kitchen is now better equipped to continue its service to the community with more piece of mind and less budgetary demands on anticipated repairs.  It is noteworthy that Warm Blessings has never shut their doors during COVID.  Like most entities, policies changed.  It became a carry and go facility forgoing the family style indoor seating that was its normal practice.  This has been accomplished with only 1 ½ paid positions who performed all the direct interaction with recipients.  The rest of the staff are volunteers.  In addition to prepared food dispersion, they also became an “information distribution center”.  Details on assistance programs in the community routinely was shared.  KYSU Cooperative Extension is proud to have assisted Warm Blessings Soup Kitchen in continuing its philanthropic work in the community.  Doing so is in keeping with our mission.  Kentucky State University (KYSU) Cooperative Extension Program strengthens underserved communities, families, farmers, individuals and youth to improve their quality of life with state-of-the-art, research-based educational programs.  The assistance provided in the awarding of this grant is yet another example of inclusive services to diverse populations.  Further, it has now opened the door for continued collaborative educational efforts.  Buzz and Woody would be proud.