JCPS launches food drive for Dare to Care, raising thousands in first hour

Within the first hour of announcing a new partnership between Kentucky's largest school system and its local food bank, thousands in donations rolled in to help support those facing food insecurity amid a federal fight over funding for the SNAP program.

Jefferson County Public Schools announced Nov. 4 it was partnering with Louisville's Dare to Care Food Bank to raise funds and collect shelf-stable food donations at each of its 155 schools and multiple central office locations. Within two hours of the district's announcement, nearly $4,500 had been donated to the food bank, which helps support hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters across the community.

The partnership is one of several initiatives geared toward combatting hunger that have popped up since it was first announced that funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would not be distributed in November amid the federal government shutdown, the first time the funds have been withheld since the program began in 1960. On Oct. 31, two courts ordered the Trump administration to provide at least a portion of the funds, but it remains unclear when people will begin receiving their benefits.

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood announced a new partnership with Dare to Care to launch a districtwide food and fund drive, with donations accepted at all JCPS schools starting immediately. He spoke at the Dare to Care Food Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, about how reduced SNAP funding could affect students and families.

"Every day that goes by, more and more families are going to be wondering, 'Where will I get my next meal?,'" Dare to Care President Vincent James told The Courier Journal. Most food stamp recipients, he said, use their benefits in the first two weeks after receiving them to purchase food meant to last the whole month, making the last few days before the benefits are reloaded an especially trying time.

Generally, Dare to Care sees around 25 families a day at this time of the month seeking an emergency box of food, James said. But on Nov. 3, just shy of 120 families were lined up waiting for the food bank to open to get a box.

The impact is particularly harmful for the school system, which serves nearly 60,000 students who are from economically disadvantaged homes that qualify for SNAP assistance.

"Our students are hurting," JCPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood said during a press conference Nov. 4, where he was joined by First Lady Britainy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman.

Teachers, Yearwood continued, can see that hurt in some students who show for school Monday morning for a free breakfast, with hunger being a lived experience. "They are making up for lost time," he said.

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, where he has said he was raised in poverty, Yearwood said he understands the reality of living hungry first hand: "I know the headaches, the pains, the suffering that goes with it."

For those in Louisville able to, "please give," he urged. "Let's stop hunger, let's stop hurting kids."

How to donate to JCPS' food drive for Dare to Care

Each JCPS school, as well as the Van Hoose Education Center, the Stober building and the CB Young Service Center, is accepting donations of non-perishable food items. Thirty-five of the schools have their own pantries where donations will remain. Donations made at the other sites will be brought to the Dare to Care warehouse on Fern Valley Road, according to JCPS.

High-demand items include canned protein like tuna and chicken, as well as peanut butter, pasta, rice and cereal.

To make a monetary donation, visit secure.qgiv.com/event/dtc/team/1012111/. Every $1 donated can provide two meals to those in need, according to the food bank.

This story has been updated with new video and photo.

Krista Johnson covers education and children. Have story ideas or questions? Contact her at [email protected] and subscribe to her newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS launches food drive for Dare to Care, raising thousands in first hour