The folks from God's pantry have been packing food boxes in Morehead, London and Lexington.

Now, with the Thanksgiving just two days away.

It's time to start handing them out.

This process actually started last February when we ordered turkeys and began ordering all of the food that we are distributing today.

Two weeks ago in London and Morehead, we assembled baskets for some of the outlying counties.

And last week we assembled baskets here in Lexington.

And today, we are matching up all of those nonperishable goods with turkey, with potatoes, with butter, with eggs and with onions, so that folks can prepare a full Thanksgiving meal.

I'm out here because it feels great to be able to be part of something that is so generously given back to the community.

And, you know, it gives me a great big smile to see that faces to be able to be a recipient of something like this.

And for me to be part of it.

And it's just all the more beautiful.

For me When we see an uptick in awareness for food insecurity.

It's during the holidays when people are trying to take those scarce budgets and be able to do something around the holidays for family and for a loved one.

And oftentimes what suffers is their food budget.

And so during the holidays is a time when those who are experiencing hunger, those who are food insecure, are really struggling to make ends meet.

The community I live in is Cardinal Valley, and I know how many people over there are so lacking in food and being part of this experience here helps me maybe generate an Advil to some other people who may in other areas want to get out and help to food insecurities because it is so such a drastic need for.

What we're seeing right now is a pretty dramatic increase in food insecurity across central and eastern Kentucky, including here in Fayette County.

The data that we have says that there's about 220,000 people across central and eastern Kentucky who are food insecure.

In Fayette County, it's 30,000.

Now is the time to really think about those who might need nourishment in order to thrive.

People tell us that if it wasn't for this distribution, they would not be able to gather around the table for a meal and the power and the blessing of being able to share a meal with loved ones and with neighbors is such an important piece of Thanksgiving.

This work is so much more about the food.

It's about the relationships.

It's about delivering hope.

It's about helping find that journey that they're looking for in their lives.

And what we hear from our volunteers is the the blessing of giving back to the community and helping those who need nutrition to get some nutrition.

And they often tell us about the stories and the conversation that they have with those who are experiencing hunger when they take the food out to the car.

It's just a heartwarming experience for everybody involved.

God's pantry will hand out about 4200 Thanksgiving meals in Lexington alone.