A pair of regional bands is coming together to benefit Paducah Cooperative Ministry, throwing a concert to raise money for the nonprofit this weekend at Paducah Beer Werks.
Family Bags and Devin Metzger & the Cane Holler Saints are performing Saturday at PBW. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. Ticket information and other details can be found on Eventbrite.
Proceeds from the show will benefit PCM, a nonprofit that helps to address food insecurity and homelessness in addition to running a transitional housing shelter for homeless women and those with children
PCM community engagement coordinator Will Brandon said he is incredibly thankful for those in the community who spend as much time thinking of ways to help others as they do their own work.
“They're helping us raise money to finish out the year strong, to make sure that we can provide food for those in McCracken County and continue to provide transitional shelter for women and women with children, and help get us a kickstart on our new pantry and shelter project coming in 2026,” Brandon said.
The mission of PCM, Brandon said, is three parts and all about helping those in need with food insecurity and housing assistance. First, he said PCM is known best for being a food pantry, where anyone can come regardless of employment status once a month, and go home with food supplies.
“If you live in McCracken County, we'll provide food for you once a month, no questions asked, we'll get a little bit of info. But I don't care if you have a job, two jobs, don't have a job, whatever we want to make sure that we've got food to give and you will get food,” said Brandon. “So you will leave with an entire shopping cart full of non-perishables, perishables, produce, frozen meat, bread and sweets. We'll load you up as much as we can.”
Brandon said their mission also includes financial services for those experiencing a lack of housing and that they can connect people with resources.
“We have financial services for those that are experiencing either active homelessness right now, or if you've been homeless and stayed in a shelter or something like that,” Brandon said. “We can talk to you and see if there's anything that we can do to kind of get you back on your feet.”
And, lastly, PCM manages Fresh Start Village, which is a transitional shelter in Paducah.
“That is a transitional shelter for homeless women and women with children here in McCracken County, and we have 48 beds that are pretty much always full,” he said.
He said there always seems to be extra need for support around the holidays as temperatures drop and other needs increase.
“As the weather gets colder, you know, we get more and more calls for shelter. We're so far in 2025 averaging about 120 calls every single month for people that need shelter. And that doesn't count the people that show up at our doorstep,” said Brandon. “Some people save up, come in here just specifically for the holidays, because they've got bills, presents, all kinds of stuff. And so we're there to fill in the gaps for those that need it.”
Brandon said nearly half of their funding comes from the public and he is grateful for artists like Family Bags and Devin Metzger & the Cane Holler Saints, as well as businesses that support their efforts like Paducah Beer Werks.
“Almost half of everything that we do is funded by people that believe in us, and want to feed their neighbor and take care of them. So we always need extra hands,” said Brandon. “We always need extra dollars, extra food to be donated. And so we've got a lot of people to take care of and I think we have a lot of people that want to take care of others.”
