By TIM THORNBERRY

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Several states, including Kentucky, will be on the receiving end of $27 million in grants designated to help combat child hunger.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement about the new initiative during a speech at the 2015 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference earlier this month. The funds will go toward projects in Kentucky, Nevada and Virginia, as well as the Chickasaw and Navajo tribal nations.

Vilsack stated too many children in America live in households that don’t always know where their next meal is coming from. "Many families are forced to buy cheaper, less healthy foods because they don’t have resources to purchase healthier options, or don’t live close to a store that sells healthy food," he said.

"At USDA, we’re deeply committed to ensuring that all Americans, especially children, have access to a healthy diet whether at home or at school. The goal of ending child hunger in America is absolutely achievable, and this new initiative will help us test innovated strategies for getting there."

Kentucky will receive $3.6 million of the funding, which will go toward the "Ticket to Healthy Food Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Demonstration," a project that will test the impact of providing households with children an additional transportation deduction that may increase their SNAP benefits, according to the USDA.

The Kentucky Highlands area in the southeastern part of the state will serve as the location from which the project will be implemented.

Tamara Sandberg, executive director of the Kentucky Assoc. of Food Banks (KAFB), said the funds are sorely needed in a state where childhood hunger is too prevalent. "Our Hunger in Kentucky 2014 report shows that 63 percent of state food bank clients have to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation," she said. "This pilot project is designed specifically to address that challenge."

Sandberg added this project will take into account the high cost of transportation to get to and from the grocery store for families in rural communities. "The idea is to help (families) stretch their SNAP benefits farther by making sure they are not having to spend so much to get to the grocery store in the first place."

According to information from the U.S. Department of Labor, on average, transportation costs are second only to the costs of shelter when it comes to family budgets. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted during a period between 1986 and 2010 consumers spent 14 percent less of their income on food and 22 percent less on transportation, while spending 11 percent more on housing and 145 percent more on health insurance.

Those statistics also indicated although transportation spending declined as a whole, dollars spent on gas and motor oil increased by 15 percent during that same time period. Adding to transportation woes is a logistics issue. In the eastern Kentucky region where the project is focused, the drive for many rural families is nearly an hour one-way to a large grocery store.

SNAP funding encompasses the largest amount of funding associated with the farm bill and one of the biggest debates associated with passage of the last bill in 2014 was that of cuts to SNAP. Senate Democrats wanted relatively small decreases of about $4 billion, while many House Republicans sought much larger cuts, by as much as $39 billion.

One proposal even argued taking the nutrition title completely out of the farm bill and making it a standalone piece of legislation. Ultimately the nutrition program stayed and endured an $8.7 billion reduction.

Kentucky has passed legislation that would aid food banks in getting more fresh produce on their shelves while providing another market opportunity for farmers. The Farm to Food Banks program promotes produce seconds normally not taken to farmers’ markets or sent to other consumer venues to be sold to the food bank association. In the last biennial budget, funding was earmarked just for the purchase of these goods.

In addition to efforts to combat hunger coming from the farming community, Sandberg said youth organizations like 4-H and FFA have helped.

"Young folks across the Commonwealth affiliated particularly with the agriculture community have come together to really try and address and solve this issue of hunger," she explained.

Unfortunately, the issue is still quite large. She noted 65 percent of food bank users also receive SNAP benefits and of those, 67 percent have children. Another 36 percent of those SNAP recipients have elder or disabled member of the family living with them.

"We’re talking about the most vulnerable Kentuckians that really need help making sure every member of the family has consistent access to healthy food," she said. "This pilot project from the USDA is really exciting because it’s going to test a way to make sure we’re eliminating as many barriers as possible for these vulnerable families."