ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- With gas and grocery prices on the rise, more and more people are needing a little extra help. 

Warm Blessings in Elizabethtown recently got a big boost to help out those in need. The nonprofit is a day shelter and community kitchen that provides a place for people to shower, do laundry and grab a meal. While the group helps people in need in a number of ways, a new closet is opening the door to the next level of service.

"It was a very big surprise to us, but it was a really, really ... it's something that made us all really excited," Program Coordinator Melissa Torres said.

Torres and Candy Ott, a community social worker, said community needs are growing. In 2019, the nonprofit served about 15,000 meals. In 2021, it more than doubled to 36,000 meals.

"On any given day, it's not something we can guesstimate anymore," Torres said. "It's gotten a little insane."

"We stay busy," Ott added.

Anthem recently awarded $10,000 to Warm Blessings to open a regional Health and Hygiene closet. It provides typical hygiene goods like feminine products and other needs. But the funds will allow the nonprofit to provide well beyond the soaps and shampoos that sometimes come through their donations.

"This helps us to expand our budget," Torres said. "So we're able to get more specialty items that are costly things like eczema creams and barrier creams and things that just cost more, we can now provide."

It also gives them the ability to fulfill special requests, like one man who had foot pain and needed insole pads and another who pointed out supplies were needed for all hair types.

It's one of eight regional hygiene closets in the state. So far, the Health and Hygiene closet has been a hit. Ott said it's sometimes the simplest items that can bring a person to tears.

"Nothing major, just like Ace wraps and Band-Aids and stuff like that that people need ...," she said. "So now, they don't have to choose."

Warm Blessings doesn't require any ID or proof of income. People only have to ask for what they need.

"If you need something and we can get it for you," Torres said. "That's what we're here for."

The only thing people utilizing the closet need to do is fill out a quick survey with just their first name to determine how well the closet is meeting their needs.

The nonprofit accepts donations of supplies during their operating hours. They also accept monetary donations online. For more information or to donate, click here.

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