Boone County allocated $10,000 to a Florence-based Hispanic community organization to help with its food box program.
The Boone County Fiscal Court voted to approve a resolution Tuesday that extended funding for several community programs through the end of the current fiscal year. The funding comes from the county’s aging, intellectual disabilities and mental health payroll tax.
FIESTA, one of the programs directly impacted by the funding, will be given $10,000 for the purpose of creating food boxes to distribute throughout the community. The food boxes are dispersed once a month and provide a recipient family with a one-week supply of food.
“They opened their doors in November and they’ve been serving people regularly through their program,” Boone County Director of Community Services and Programs Laura Pleiman said during the meeting.
The tax, implemented in 1986, is a .0015% occupational license fee capped at $25 annually for people employed in Boone County. Between Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, the tax has a community impact of $6 million, said Pleiman.
Pleiman noted the food box program qualifies to receive funding through the tax’s mental health classification due to the negative impacts poverty can have on a person’s mental health.
“Speaking from a kid who grew up in one of these types of families that was very hungry and didn’t know where it was coming from, I can say if you can’t focus on where your food is coming from, you not focusing on school or anything else and Lord knows what,” Commissioner Jesse Brewer said. “I can see the string and how it can be applied to that.”