BENTON, Ky. – Marshall County Caring Needline, which distributes groceries to needy families, has been awarded a $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the Commonwealth to pay for renovation of its facility.
Gov. Andy Beshear is to present the award Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Livingston Central High School in Smithland. Another presentation will be made to a Livingston County entity during the ceremony. The grant was secured through a coordinated effort of Needline Director Hollie Darnall, Benton Mayor Rita Dotson, Marshall County Judge-Executive Kevin Spraggs and Fiscal Court, and Purchase Area Development District.
The CDBG money will be combined with $500,000 already donated by PADD to completely renovate the Needline building at 307 E. Main St. in Benton. The PADD contribution came from tornado recovery funds.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant to pay for remodeling of our building,” Darnall said. “The building itself is sound, but we can better utilize space and have a more efficient operation for our volunteer workers and for the clients we serve, and we are looking forward to that.”
The building, which formerly housed an automobile dealership, has been home to Needline since 1987 and is owned by Marshall County Caring Inc. Marshall County Caring was established in December 1985 to take over a food distribution that was formed in 1983 through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The emergency food bank was operated in 1983 and 1984 by the Calvert City Jaycees under the administration of Marshall County Ministerial Alliance.