Before Lucky’s Market opened its doors to the Lexington public, GleanKY was working to build a relationship with this growing network of groceries out of Boulder, CO. Marketing themselves as “organic for the 99%” Lucky’s Market is committed to making fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone. Almost immediately, they were on-board with our mission to redistribute their excess produce to those in the Lexington community who couldn’t otherwise access their grocery.
We began gleaning on the day Lucky’s opened and have gleaned every day since. The employees in produce, receiving, and other areas of the store have joined in the support of our mission and work to make sure all produce culled from the store ends up with GleanKY and our partners.
By providing a consistent, reliable source of fresh produce, Lucky’s has empowered GleanKY to move many of our partner agencies from seasonal recipients to weekly recipients. 14 local feeding agencies have received a weekly drop-off of Lucky’s produce and we couldn’t be prouder.
Kentucky Refugee Ministries is one of these agencies. Every Friday morning, GleanKY volunteers drive the few short miles from Lucky’s to KRM to ensure that the refugees attending cultural orientation leave with healthy food for their families. As Lexington’s newest community members, KRM’s clients are faced with the tough task of adjusting to a new culture, including a new way of feeding their families. By adding fresh produce to the services KRM provides its clients, we hope to make the barrier to health that much smaller for those who have already overcome so much.
In the 9 months since GleanKY’s partnership with Lucky’s began, we’ve redistributed nearly 18,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Kentucky Refugee Ministries and we don’t intent to stop anytime soon. Support this partnership and over 60 more by donating today: razoo.com/gleaning4KY