America has been called "the bread basket of the world", and for decades American food companies have managed to produce surplus quantities of food. Yet millions of Americans have struggled to live on income too low to provide adequate meals for their families. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that nearly 20% of all food manufactured in this country never reaches the consumer. In keeping with our mission to fight hunger, the food bank channels this surplus food to those in need.

ASH of KY's Heartland operates as a central clearing-house for collecting and distributing food and grocery products that might otherwise be wasted. The food bank solicits and receives both new and commercially excess but fully edible food from the food industry such as manufacturers, distributors, warehouse and storage operations, grocery chains, or from individual donors. It also benefits from being a member of America's Second Harvest network of food banks, which solicits food and grocery products in large quantities from national manufacturers and distributes these goods among nearly 200 regional food banks in the United States. The food is edible but cannot be sold at retail outlets for various reasons: over production, mislabeling, unattractive packaging, approaching shelf-life expiration, slow turnover or damaged packaging. In addition to foods provided by donors, the food bank also distributes commodities provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The food bank receives, inspects, sorts, stores and distributes this food to charitable, non-profit agencies that directly serve those in need. These agencies include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, various types group and residential facilities, shelters for the homeless, day care facilities for the low-income, summer camps, etc. Any organization meeting the criteria of the Internal Revenue Service as a 501C3 agency that agrees to provide food to those in need at no charge may apply to become a member of the food bank.

For agencies, being a member of the food bank allows them to access numerous donated food resources out of one central distribution center. For food producing corporations and groceries chains, the food bank offers them an alternative to throwing away food; by donating they realize a tax incentive. More importantly, the donor organizations have the opportunity to help the less fortunate.

ASH of KY's Heartland reaches deep into Kentucky, servicing 170 agencies in 35 Central and South Central counties. The food bank touches the lives of many in need with approximately 3,000 families each week receiving some type of food support service from a member agency.