Issue 3: November 10, 2025

Community Highlight

Marcella’s Kitchen

868 Guy Mathis Dr., Benton KY

(270) 703 - 3402

marshallcountycommunitykitchen.com

Marcella’s Kitchen continues to be one of Marshall County’s most vital lifelines, serving free, hot meals to anyone in need. Located on Guy Mathis Drive in Benton, the kitchen operates Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., welcoming all guests with warmth, dignity, and a sense of community. Each meal is prepared and served by volunteers, many of whom come from local churches, civic groups, and schools. Together, they ensure that no one in our county goes without a meal or a friendly face to greet them.

The number of people seeking assistance has steadily increased as grocery prices rise and federal nutrition programs like SNAP face ongoing cuts. For many residents, Marcella’s Kitchen is the only reliable meal they receive that day. Donations of food, funds, and volunteer time are what keep the kitchen’s doors open. Every contribution—from a bag of rice to a few hours of service—makes an immediate difference. The kitchen’s success depends on the continued compassion of our neighbors, reminding us that when our community comes together, we can fight hunger with both heart and hope.

Marcella's Kitchen is open Monday through Friday from 11am-1pm.

Community Connections - Processing Bad News

In times of political turmoil it is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of uncertainty we face on a day to day basis. It is easy to read negative headline after negative headline and enter a place where it feels like all we consume is bad news. This is why it is so important to set boundaries as to how and when we consume information. It’s okay to turn off the TV and say “okay, that’s enough news for today,” or put down your phone and stop reading that article. There is a balance between staying informed and overwhelming yourself, and many of us struggle to find that line. It is important to take a break and spend time doing things that recharge your batteries, such as taking a walk outside, baking, or spending time with your family or like-minded friends. You can also take the scary things happening as a call to action. Donating to your local food pantry, volunteering at a soup kitchen, running for local office, checking on your neighbors, and spreading kindness are all small ways you can make a big impact.

Community Activism November 8, 2025

Marshall County Democrats Food Drive

Now through November 8, the Marshall County Democrats are collecting non-perishable food items to support local food banks across our community. Every can, box, and bag makes a difference!

Drop-Off Locations:

All Marshall County Public Library branches (Benton, Calvert City, Hardin)

*Only* Saturday, November 8 at Marshalls on Hwy 68

Collection Dates:

Now through Saturday, November 8

Most Needed Items:

• Canned fruits & vegetables

• Peanut butter & jelly

• Pasta & rice

• Cereal & oatmeal

• Soup & canned meals

Benefited Programs:

• Marshall County Caring Needline – 307 E Main St., Benton KY

Emergency groceries and senior food support.

• Bags of Hope Food Pantry – 3265 Mayfield Hwy., Benton KY

Open Mondays & Thursdays 1:00–4:00 PM.

• Marcella’s Kitchen – 868 Guy Mathis Dr., Benton KY

Serving free hot lunches Monday–Friday 11:00 AM–1:00 PM.

• Three Crosses Food Ministry – 641 Spur Rd., Benton KY

Food assistance Tuesdays 4:00–6:00 PM.

If you operate a food pantry or meal program in Marshall County and would like to receive donations, please contact (573) 703-7795 or contact@marshallkydems.com.

Let’s come together to feed our neighbors and make sure no Marshall County family goes hungry this season.

Can undocumented immigrants get 'free health care' or Medicaid?

Article written by Lauren Villagran and Sarah Wire of USA Today. October 1, 2025

Republicans are claiming Democrats shut down the government "to demand free health care for illegals."

But is it true?

The United States government ground to a halt at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1, after Congress failed to reach a deal to fund the federal budget.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told CNBC on the morning of the Oct. 1 shutdown that Democrats "want to restore taxpayer funded benefits, American taxpayer funded benefits to illegal aliens."

"We're not doing that," he added. 

But that's not what Democrats are demanding at all.

Democrats say they're fighting to restore Medicaid benefits that were cut in President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful" tax and budget bill, which he signed into law in July.

The morning after the shutdown began, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, told MSNBC that Democrats are not in any way asking for health care for people in the country without legal status. 

"It's a total, absolute [expletive] lie," he said. 

Do 'illegal' immigrants get free health care?

Undocumented immigrants are largely ineligible for federal health benefits, said Leo Cuello, research professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy.

They don't qualify for comprehensive Medicaid coverage, Medicare or the Children's Health Insurance Program. And they can't purchase federally subsidized health plans on exchanges backed by the Affordable Care Act.

There are immigrants on Medicaid in the United States. So-called "noncitizen enrollees" in Medicaid accounted for 6% of the total, according to KFF, a nonprofit that conducts research and polling on health policy.

Not being a citizen isn't the same as residing in the United States illegally; there are many ways to live here as a legal resident, without full U.S. citizenship. This is where the political argument gets messy.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program. The new GOP tax and spending law tightens up access to Medicaid benefits in several ways including by prohibiting an individual from being enrolled in multiple state plans; ensuring deceased individuals don't remain enrolled; and by instituting more frequent eligibility screening.

All told, the new law leaves 10 million more Americans uninsured, Cuello said, by rolling back a Medicaid expansion and making changes to the Affordable Care Act marketplace. An additional 4 million people may no longer be able to afford insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges when tax credits expire at the end of the year.

But the law also quietly excluded from Medicaid eligibility certain classes of lawful immigrants who previously might have qualified for benefits.

Who is considered a legal immigrant?

The Trump administration and many Republicans have taken the view this year that certain immigrants once considered "legal" should no longer be.

For example, the Department of Homeland Security this year canceled humanitarian parole under the Biden-era Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans program, or CHNV. DHS also revoked the Temporary Protected Status of some Venezuelans, Haitians and others, though the revocations are tied up in federal court.

In March, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service's list of so-called "qualified aliens" who were eligible for Medicaid coverage included only lawful immigrants: legal permanent residents, refugees, people granted asylum, people granted humanitarian parole including Ukrainians and Afghans, certain Cubans and Haitians and certain victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, among others.

Even among the "qualified aliens," several groups were required to wait five to seven years after their arrival in the United States before they could become eligible, according to an April 2025 report by Congressional Research Service.

The new law restricts eligibility only to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, i.e. green card holders and certain Cuban and Haitian immigrants.

"Refugees, victims of trafficking, victims of domestic violence, people here for humanitarian reasons and people granted political asylum are all groups who today are in Medicaid and tomorrow will not be," Cuello said.

The law also restricts payments to states for medical assistance – including emergency care – furnished to anyone who isn't a citizen or lawful permanent resident. In 1986, Congress passed a law requiring that anyone in need of emergency care receive it, regardless of who they are or their ability to pay.

"Currently the federal government pays a share of those costs," Cuello said. "This law says the federal government will reduce how much money it is paying."

Democrats want to reverse many of the health care-related provisions included in the new act to keep more Americans, and some lawful immigrants, eligible for Medicaid. They say the shutdown is over preserving healthcare access, and there is no proposal to provide free health care to people living in the country illegally.