Price Less IGA's 'Seniors Helping Seniors' A Success

Russellville, Kentucky's Price Less IGA Store #590 kicked off the holiday season in October 2023 with an event that offered healthy competition between teens and senior citizens while addressing food insecurity among the community's senior residents.

Held at Price Less IGA, the Seniors Helping Seniors event welcomed students and faculty from two high schools, Logan County and Russellville Independent, and the community's senior citizens. Armed with shopping carts and a mission to gather as many groceries as possible in a 90-second window, participants raced through the aisles to fill their carts with items that would end up in the homes of seniors in the area.

It was a bustling atmosphere, with cheers and encouragement from the schools' teachers and family resource officers.

"We were doing business that day. So, all of my employees and the customers were on the intercom, rooting for them," Store Manager Kim Nolan said. "It was exciting for the customers as well as the employees, and it was very good for those seniors from the high school to see that there were other people in need that they got to help."

Students line up at checkout with their groceries.

Kentucky ranks seventh in the nation for seniors with very low food security, meaning this demographic has limited or uncertain access to adequate food. According to Feeding America, the state has the fourth highest rate of food insecurity among adults aged 50 to 59 in the nation and in 2021, Logan County had a food insecurity rate of 12.2%.

Seniors Helping Seniors aimed to address this issue on the local level. It's the brainchild of Chad Hall, president of Logan and McLean County at Independence Bank. The bank previously hosted a similar event at Owensboro IGA in Owensboro, Kentucky, and its success inspired Hall to bring it to his hometown, Logan County. Having known Nolan for years, Hall reached out about hosting.

“My family has sold vegetables to Kim and IGA for many years. As a younger man, I made several of those deliveries when she was still in Lewisburg,” Hall said. “Her heart for the community is evident and she's always willing to step up as an individual and as a business leader in our community.”

It was a gamer-changer for the community. Hall said an estimated total of 1,351 meals (approximately $4,000 in food) were donated. This is approximately 45 meals per household. The goods gathered during the competition were distributed strategically, ensuring that families could enjoy the provisions well before Thanksgiving.

“For our first event in Logan County it was fantastic,” Hall said. “The school districts were very supportive, the community as a whole donated food the entire month. Kim and the store were great partners. Students were very excited and I think the store employees were as well.”

Following the event, Independence Bank presented a $500 check to Russellville High School, the winning school. Their shoppers succeeded in earning the "biggest basket size" by filling their carts with goods that yielded the highest bill at checkout. Students and staff that participated will decide how to use the funds.

The success of Seniors Helping Seniors was a testament to the collaborative efforts of a caring community, where the joy of giving echoed through the aisles of Price Less IGA. Both Hall and Nolan have expressed interest in hosting the event again in 2024.