Communities | News From Our Chapters

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 • Mingo County, West Virginia  

Mingo County, West Virginia — The Marrowbone Food Pantry is in Kermit, West Virginia – population 209. It was developed 13 years ago by the Big Laurel Learning Center in Naugatuck, an unincorporated adjacent village in Mingo County, West Virginia. The Food Pantry is Family-to-Family's on-site agency, where food cartons are delivered.
  • Mingo County is a coal-rich area that borders on Kentucky in Southwestern West Virginia, about a two-hour drive from Charleston, the state capital.
  • In 2000, 83% of Mingo County houses were valued at less than $100,000; 37.9% less than $50,000.
  • Using 1999 census data, in terms of income, 29.7% of Mingo Country residents live below the poverty line; 25.7% of households report yearly income under $10,000.

A mountainous area, Mingo County's access to the outside world is diminished. Many residents do not have running water, or telephones, which are considered a luxury. Transportation is difficult; many residents have no funds to repair broken cars.

Because of federal welfare constraints and unemployment due to coal mine closures, poverty in Mingo Country is worsening.

Families in Mingo County are receiving monthly Family-to-Family cartons from families in Connecticut and New York.

Marrowbone Food Pantry
C/O Salmon's Grocery
Rte. 1 Marrowbone Creek Rd.
Kermit, West Virginia, 25674
C/O Sister Jeanne
Chapter Chairpersons
Lori Ratner
Stamford, Connecticut


Andrea Kaplan
Edgemont, New York

Sources: Housing Values – U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000. Poverty/Income – U.S. Census Bureau, American Fact Finder, Quick Tables.