By Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice announced the launch of an emergency food fund Thursday that he said he will benefit food pantries in all 55 counties.
Justice spoke about the Posey Perry Emergency Food Fund during his virtual administration briefing. He also used the session to applaud a new state ranking for West Virginia, to encourage reading among children and to discuss the state of sports in the Mountain State, including WVU’s heartbreaking loss last week to Houston.
Justice said the new emergency food fund will support the state’s two large food banks, Mountaineer Food Bank and Facing Hunger Foodbank. He said those two organizations in return will provide meals to food pantries in all 55 counties.
“I am extremely proud to announce today we are launching that and that food fund will supply food in our food banks with an additional $10 million to combat the food insecurity in West Virginia,” the Republican governor said, adding that the emergency food fund was being named after the late Posey Perry, a coal miner who volunteered at food banks for many years.
Food insecurity in the state was identified as one of the reasons the new emergency food fund was needed.
