By Tisa Conway-Cunningham
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snack. In the aftermath of the second-largest flood in Frankfort’s history, our community rallied out of necessity.
The weather was critical. Winds swooshed through the city at 50-60 mph, sirens blared for over an hour, as severe storms moved through the city. The water rose in the Kentucky River to 48.27 ft. At 50 ft, the water would have breached the flood wall, predicting that over 1,000 residents would have been displaced if the record crest occurred.
The city braced for impact, preparing sandbags and voluntary evacuations. Rescue crews arrived as cots and essential items were available at emergency shelters throughout the city.
The water rose rapidly in the early morning hours following the storms that roared through the city. The city faced flooding in numerous areas. Yet, 0.2 feet shy of the record, 48.47 feet, at 48.27 feet the river crested. At 3 a.m., rescue crews worked to rescue families in the flooded areas. Over 240 people were evacuated from rapidly rising flood water invasions.
Shelter. Clothing. Personal hygiene products. Cleaning supplies. Displaced families received shelter at local hotels, emergency shelters set up at Franklin County High School and the Capital City Activity Center. Victims also turned to friends and family for housing outside of the flood-affected areas. The community quickly began to rally. Donations poured in. Shoes, clothes, toys, hygiene products, pet food, pet supplies, cleaning products, and anything that families may need for support. The support came in troves.
Food. 240 plus meals. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Including snacks for the kids. The community rallied. Frankfort Independent Schools cafeteria staff provided lunches to anyone who needed lunch. World Central Kitchen showed up with their portable kitchen and provided hot fresh meals daily. First Baptist Church on Clinton Street fired up the smokers and grills and provided barbeque meals with all the fixings for all to enjoy. They cooked. They served. They provided. No one had to be hungry.
Local businesses and organizations showed up. The Frankfort Plant Board reported an emergency shutdown of the Frankfort water supply because the pumps were underwater. Simultaneously, Pourter’s addressed water needs with its never-depleted wall of cases of bottled water free for the community. Each day, as the wall decreased, donations showed up to replenish the wall.
Bridging the Gap’s Roni Robinson was around town, collecting donations, distributing essentials and serving food. There was no measure to the services he and his volunteers provided. They answered the call, no matter what the tasks. Food, clothing, diapers, snacks, toiletries, deliveries, transportation, whatever the need, they provided service and support.
Local restaurants provided. Thai Smile partnered with Poppy’s Bakery to provide 500 free meals and 500 delicious donuts for dessert to any resident in need of a meal. I Love Sushi (China Wok) donated over 250 meals. Davinci’s ovens worked around the clock to provide pizzas and pastas to supplement food needs. Staxx Barbecue and Mi Fiesta answered the call to replace World Central Kitchen on lunch duty, as WCK moved forward to provide services and support for other communities in need.
The Evergreen Southern Kitchen and Gathering Place partnered with The Simon House and The Chamber to collect and distribute donations. Evergreen Southern Kitchen also assembled snack packs for kids displaced by floods, and in seven days, prepared and delivered over 1,500 dinners to those impacted by floods and flood workers.
The support just kept pouring in from everywhere. Big Daddy’s Fried Chicken fried up fish and chips for those in need. Andy’s Artisan Bread donated bread, pastries and even hot cross buns. Denisha Black and our local Panera Bread donated bread, bagels, pastries and desserts for families to snack on too. Our local Penn Station restaurants donated sub sandwich meals for the impacted families.
Community Que cruised in for Gabriel Andrews and the Andrews family donating 10% of sales to the Andrews family providing support. The Andrews family, and the Frankfort community, tragically lost 9-year-old Gabriel Andrews during the April floods.
Day after day, the Frankfort community showed up. Local family and friends lined the streets with free food stands. Jazmin Valencia, and company, provided hot tamales, hotdogs, sandwiches and drinks for all to partake. On several occasions, locals showed up with grills and provided hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks to anyone in need of a meal. While Locals Food Hub and Pizza Pub patrons purchased slices to donate to flood workers, community cooks, displaced locals, local fire, police and EMS workers, and anyone who wanted to enjoy a slice. Together, our community answered the call. We provided.
It is (Superwoman) Kristie Powe who practically moved into the lobby of the Capital Plaza Hotel to provide service at every level. It is Miranda Marston, Katrisha Waldridge, Audrey Palmer, Katima McMillan (Smith-Willis), Ashly Eyer, Jane Bartram, Susi Shy Goddard, Angela Harris Winkfield, Jodie Bryant and Holly Smith Crosthwaite.
It is local mentors, mentees, families, friends, businesses, organizations, non-profits, emergency services, schools and community members. It is those groups and individuals who traveled from afar to provide support, relief and service to the Frankfort community. It is you. It is me. It is us. This is for everyone who came together to support the capital city of Kentucky in our time of need. Thank you for your service.
Thank you for providing shelter to those displaced by the flood of 2025. Thank you for feeding us when our families were worried about where the next meal for their families would come from. Thank you for providing clothing, shoes, toiletries, cleaning products, toys, easter baskets, activities, services and all support to this community in our time of need.
We came together. We supported our community. Take note: There is no measure of what we can accomplish when we all work together with a common goal in mind. #WeAreFrankfort #Frankfortstrong
