The Covington Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to donate $10,000 from the city’s own funds to aid local families in accessing food in the face of the ongoing federal government shutdown and its potential impact on SNAP benefits.
Mayor Ron Washington brought the idea before the commissioners Tuesday night and called upon other mayors in the Northern Kentucky region to act similarly.
“I challenge my mayors within this county and within Northern Kentucky to come forth with funds on this,” Washington said. “This is a non-partisan issue of being hungry. It ain’t no fun. Let’s go help people.”
Specifically, the city will donate the $10,000 to the Horizon Community Fund’s NKY Food Support Fund, which shuttles money to food service agencies. The part of the city budget from which the money will come has yet to be determined.
Washington said his motion came following a recent visit to Be Concerned, a legacy food service agency that served up to 1,000 families a month with food during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whose director recently sat down with LINK nky to discuss the ongoing demand for food in the region. Washington described his experience as “both inspiring and actually sobering.”
“This growing need underscores the pressure and rising cost reduced federal benefits in the current government shutdown are putting on our Covington families and our Covington community,” Washington said.
The mayor asked for a vote from the other commissioners, which usually does not occur at caucus meetings like Tuesday’s. In cases like this, a board must vote to allow itself to take legislative action and then cast a separate vote on the action itself. The other commissioners supported the action.
Horizon Community Funds also accepts donations from individuals. You can donate to the NKY Food Support Fund here. If you or your family need food, check out our list of local service agencies.