In response to the lapse in Snap benefits, the Kentucky Democratic Party held a statewide food drive on Saturday.

Democratic leaders, local nonprofits and community leaders throughout the state participated in what was called the Day of Action.

Collecting food donations, they say, will go to help almost 600,000 Kentuckians who rely on Snap or food stamp benefits.

Katie was at the kickoff in Lexington, where Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman was among the volunteers taking donations.

There are 600,000 Kentuckians that depend on Snap benefits, and they don't know when or how, or if or how much money is going to be made available to them to be able to feed their families as we enter the holiday season.

So it's never been more important to show up for our neighbors.

And so I've traveled the state and I've worked with a lot of our food banks to help get the word out about supplies and donations and monetary donations and volunteering, because they need our help now more than ever.

We have seen an increased need.

Our phone is ringing off the hook with families who are looking for ways to access food.

We do a hot meal distribution on Mondays and Wednesdays.

We are handing out 600 meals every night on Fridays we're doing grocery boxes.

We build 125 and then continue building.

When those run out to ensure that nobody is going without food.

Oh, we're doing a food drive.

To really supplement our Thanksgiving boxes that also to supplement the families who are missing out and weren't necessarily knowing that they were going to miss out on some food needs this holiday.

And so we are really working together to make sure that our neighbors are working in recovery.

A lot of people we have come out of treatment or, you know, their family and friends that don't have nothing.

Now's the point.

Now we're strong.

We're having people, food pantries constantly.

If there's not a day has gone by this past week when somebody's contacted needed some kind of call, you have nonprofits that are operating on a shoestring budget.

You have public schools, who are collecting donations, and they're doing more than the most powerful government in the world to make sure that people don't go hungry.

And there's something seriously wrong with that.

We're concerned about the small market.

We're concerned about our farmers who are relying on a lot of this income that does come from Snap.

And so it does.

It goes much further beyond just the recipients themselves.

It is our local food economy that is going to suffer.

This is a this is a hard time for a lot of people, a lot of families, a lot of households.

But as always, when we face disaster in Kentucky, we show up for each other.

And that's what you're seeing here today is neighbors coming in to help a neighbor to help neighbors, no questions asked.

The people who are preparing this food have no idea where it's going or what family it's going to, what their zip code is, what their religion is, what their race is, what their political party is.

Because that's not important.

What's important is that you do the right thing for the right reasons.