Nourish Lexington
How Do I Receive A Meal?
If you would like to receive a meal, we distribute meals on Mondays and Wednesdays from the front door of FoodChain from 4:00pm-6:00pm.
On Fridays, FoodChain will be distributing grocery boxes with produce and other items for you to utilize cooking at home with your family. These will also be distributed between 4:00pm-6:00pm.
FoodChain: 501 W. Sixth St, Suite 105 (where Jefferson St. meets W. Sixth St.)
***We ask that you wait until 3:30pm to line up. We have picnic tables across the street you may sit at to wait or utilize the bench directly next to our stairs. We ask that you not sit on the steps in front of FoodChain or Smithtown to not block the doors. Please use the trash cans in that area to dispose of any trash.
Distribucion Gratuita De Comida
Como recibir comida?
Si desea recibir una comida, las distribuimos los lunes y miércoles desde la puerta principal de FoodChain de 4:00 p. m. a 6:00 p. m.
Los viernes, FoodChain distribuirá cajas de comestibles con frutas y verduras y otros alimentos para que usted pueda cocinar en casa con su familia. Estos también se distribuirán entre las 16:00 y las 18:00 horas.
FoodChain: 501 W. Sixth St, Suite 105 (donde Jefferson St. se encuentra con W. Sixth St.)
***Le pedimos que espere hasta las 3:30 p.m. para hacer fila. Tenemos mesas de picnic al otro lado de la calle en las que puede sentarse a esperar o utilizar el banco directamente al lado de nuestras escaleras. Le pedimos que no se siente en los escalones frente a FoodChain o Smithtown para no bloquear las puertas. Utilice los botes de basura en esa área para deshacerse de la basura.
Meal Delivery Service
Unfortunately, our meal delivery program is full at this time! However, we do have a waitlist which is about a year long. If you would like to be notified of future changes for meal delivery intake, please fill out one of the forms below.`
Servicio de Entrega de Comida
Actualmente nuestra lista de espera del servicio de entrega a domicilio está llena. Si desea recibir notificaciones sobre cambios futuros en la ingest de entrega de comidas, complete uno de los formularios a continuacion.
Everything You Need To Know:
When is Meal Distribution?
Our free meal distribution is on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4pm – 6pm.
Do I Need to Meet Any Requirements?
Nope! We ask for no identifying information.
What Do I Bring?
Nothing! We ask no questions. The only thing you have to do is show up between 4 pm – 6pm.
How Many Meals Can I Get?
Meal Limit: We limit meals to 3 per person. So that we can serve the most people possible.
Where Do I Go?
There will be a line forming outside our building at 3:30pm. To receive meals simply join the line.
Want To Know What's For Dinner?
Check Out Our Facebook Page!
Why should I check out your Facebook page?
By following our Facebook you will be able to stay informed while scrolling on social media. Our Facebook has all the information you need to know about meal distribution.
Our Facebook:
- Post our meal distribution menu on Mondays
- Announces if our meal distribution is canceled
- Highlights volunteer opportunities that need help
- Post exciting updates about FoodChain
Common Courtesy Rules
Meal Distribution Rules
Rule 1: Please Do Not Line Up Before 3:30 pm
Rule 2: Please Do Not Sit On Our Steps
Rule 3: Please Do Not Block The Sidewalk
Rule 4: Please Use the Picnic Tables Across the Street to Wait Before 3:30 pm
Rule 5: Please Wait Your Turn
Rule 6: Please Use Trashcans to Dispose of Your Trash
Rule 7: NO SMOKING/VAPING in line or on the bench in front of our door. Please respect posted No Smoking signs. You may go across the street to smoke/vape.
The Beginning
During the pandemic, food insecurity ravaged our state with one in six Kentuckians lacking reliable access to the nutritious foods needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. As businesses were forced to close their doors, unemployment skyrocketed and the local food chain was disrupted causing a large spike in food insufficiency. Here at FoodChain, we knew taking action was imperative.
Nourish Lexington was promptly created by FoodChain in March of 2020 and expanded to VisitLex and Keeneland the following month. The mission was simple, serve as many Kentuckians facing food insecurity as possible. Initial efforts included partnering with countless organizations and providers, handing out meals in front of our building, and establishing Mass Meal Distribution Sites around Lexington. We began implementing Neighborhood Routes to assist travel-limited residents in the fall and weekly Mobile Meals home deliveries that winter. All of this aimed to adapt and lean into the local need with place-based responses.
Today, Nourish Lexington remains active through FoodChain as a free food distribution system that models a more sustainable, equitable food system for emergency meals. The program increases access to wholesome food and provides education about local ingredients all while being mindful of the larger local food landscape. We prioritize utilizing local produce, ingredients, and professionals as a way to creatively combat the food crisis and uplift Kentucky’s own food economy.
Free Meal Distribution
Homebase
FoodChain is a growing non-profit that forges links between community and fresh food in Lexington, Kentucky. We strive to cultivate active participation in our food system, working to educate consumers about local food, increase access to wholesome ingredients, and model sustainability in a community food system.
Before the pandemic, we were busy running a 7,000 gallon indoor aquaponic farm with greens and tilapia, teaching cooking classes that focus on food literacy, and lightly processing local fruits and vegetables to make them longer lasting and more convenient. We were also hosting community meals that built new connections over shared food experiences, empowering youth to make healthful food choices with purchasing power at the local farmers markets, and running a workforce development program to expose and train under and unemployed neighbors for jobs in the local food sector.
Our ethos of innovation, flexibility, and collaboration, along with our existing Teaching & Processing kitchen and food systems expertise made us the perfect home for Nourish Lexington. This unique program has become the cornerstone of FoodChain’s programming, especially as we move into our second decade of operations in the fall of 2021.
Nourish Lexington
Nourish Lexington is designed to do things differently. We model a more sustainable, equitable food system for emergency meals that offers dignity to all. Our program increases access to wholesome food, provides education about local ingredients, all while being mindful of the larger local food landscape.
Evolving has always been part of our story. We have stayed connected to our recipient’s needs at each turn of the pandemic crisis and adapted accordingly. Our flexibility and receptiveness allows us to lean into the local need with place-based responses.
Nourish Lexington also sets itself apart by uplifting the whole local food economy. For too long, the food system has not valued the labor required to grow, prepare, transport, and distribute the nutrition we rely on. By prioritizing local produce and other ingredients, as well as the professionals who transform these products into quality meals, we acknowledge and utilize our local resources and skills as a vital tool for rethinking crisis feeding. Collectively, we have shown that imaginative, mutually beneficial solutions are possible when we mobilize all the assets our community has to offer.
Nourish by the Numbers
365,000
MEALS SERVED
Thousands of kids, adults, seniors, and families have received from-scratch meals for free. 165,000 meals went to children and seniors.
$1,210,000
DOLLARS INVESTED
That’s money spent on local restaurants, caterers, farmers, food professionals, and businesses to help make meals and sustain the local food economy.
31
LOCAL FOOD BUSINESSES
We’ve been able to pay local enterprises and other food distributors, helping to sustain businesses and pay employees.
Fresh from Farmers
Nourish Lexington is committed to providing the best quality food for our neighbors while also supporting the local food economy of Central Kentucky. Markets for farmers were upended with the closure of many of their buyers, especially institutional contracts. We are proud to have incorporated products from over 25 area farms into our meals and thankful we could invest dollars into their family businesses. These supply chains keep both local dollars and nutrients rippling through our communities.
Minding the Gap
Nourish Lexington is devoted to reaching the most vulnerable. We serve anyone facing food insecurity including unhoused people, survivors of domestic abuse, seniors, children, refugees, and immigrants. We eliminate even more barriers by not requiring documents to demonstrate need. This allows us to reach further into the margins, feeding those unable, scared, or skeptical of completing paperwork, as well as those with language barriers to English or Spanish.
Eliminating the need for documentation or referrals is a key part of long lasting change. Restrictions stifle access. We encourage residents to take meals for themselves, as well as their homebound neighbors, extended friends, and family. Community ambassadors have given out meals in their neighborhoods where they are trusted and know the need best. We want our community to model generosity and to know they can make a difference. In an agricultural state like Kentucky, there is no need for nutritional scarcity. This limitless approach in distributing and sharing meals further develops grassroots structures for food security and bolsters local infrastructure for facing crises. We are indebted to our community ambassadors for fulfilling FoodChain’s mission during the pandemic by connecting community to fresh food.