The Claude & Betty Harris Center for Hunger Relief stands as a testament to one family’s faithfulness.

Claude and Betty devoted themselves to envisioning, believing and investing in a future where every family thrives in Northwest Arkansas.

As a member of the First United Methodist Church’s Covenant Group, Betty helped provide food for low-income households in Springdale. What started as buying groceries for individual families grew into Bread of Life, a food pantry housed at the church. Bread of Life now operates in a free-standing building and served over 2,200 households in 2023.

This desire to end hunger in Northwest Arkansas also captured the heart of June Self, the first director of the Ozark Food Bank (now known as the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank). Shortly after the food bank opened in 1989, Betty met with June to pick up food for Bread of Life.

During this meeting, Betty saw an opportunity for generosity, one with a lasting impact on the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank’s mission.

June faced a serious challenge in supplying food to area food pantries. Tyson Foods was willing to donate large amounts of protein, but June had no place to store it. Betty and the Harris Family Trust purchased a freezer, allowing the Food Bank to safely store and distribute these donations to partner organizations and families in need.

This moment of faithfulness led to nearly 40 years of supporting the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank through anonymous donations, guidance and pouring into the organization’s leadership development from June Self to Kent Eikenberry. All of this was done out of the spotlight, aiming to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, who healed and fed those in need.

Alongside their faith and generosity, Claude and Betty also valued tenacity. Taking risks meant believing the payoff would exceed the wildest imaginations. Claude always had an eye for the future, whether donating to the Food Bank's early stages or joining Sam Walton’s new venture – Walmart – as Claude climbed from store manager to becoming the company’s first merchant.

Through the Harris Family Foundation, Claude and Betty invested in a brighter future through supporting organizations focused on hunger relief and healthcare. With their generosity, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank continued to meet the growing region’s needs – reaching over 11.7 million meals distributed in 2023.

In 2022, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank announced its relocation and expansion in Lowell, named the Claude & Betty Harris Center for Hunger Relief. As he did from the beginning, Claude planted a seed for the future as he pushed a shovel into the ground.

Because of Claude and Betty, families across Northwest Arkansas will have food for today and hope for tomorrow.

For many of us, our pets are a part of the family. Dion, who lives in Fayetteville with his two dogs – a terrier and a German shepherd – does everything he can to make sure they are happy and healthy.

When hard times come and sacrifices must be made, some pet owners put their pets’ needs above their own – sharing meals or cutting back on other necessities to afford pet food. The pain of giving up their loving companions is too much to bear.

Located inside Trinity United Methodist Church, We Are Nourished Food Pantry provides both dog and cat food to support pet owners, along with a variety of food choices for people. The food pantry is an agency partner of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

Along with meals for himself and food for his dogs, Dion has found support and encouragement from the caring volunteers any time he stops by the pantry.

“I most definitely would recommend that people visit,” Dion said. “It has helped out a lot.”

We Are Nourished Food Pantry, a ministry of Trinity United Methodist Church, is open on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 1021 Sycamore Street in Fayetteville. They can be contacted at 479-530-4395.

Agency Partner Spotlight: Muslims4Community Food Pantry

With free, personalized online ordering, picking up food from Muslims4Community is not your typical food pantry experience.

“Basically, the model is that you request the items online,” said Rizwan, the food pantry director. “We have a catalog just like you would see on an e-commerce site. You decide which items you want, and then we box them for you.”

Muslims4Community first started serving individuals in need by delivering sandwich lunches to local shelters. In 2020, they transitioned to an online food pantry due to the pandemic.

“This was our way of doing it contactless and we stayed with the format after that,” Rizwan said.

Since 2020, the Muslims4Community Food Pantry has fulfilled over 1600 orders with more than 44,900 food items for families throughout Northwest Arkansas.

The pantry serves anyone in need regardless of religion, and there are no income or residency requirements.

The only requirement is to register online and place your order Monday through Thursday at www.m4cpantry.org. Families can pick out a week’s worth of food, including breakfast items, frozen meat, pasta, diapers and personal care products.

Volunteers pack the orders on Fridays and then food is available for pick-up on Saturdays in the drive-through line. There are also a limited amount of pre-packed boxes for families if online registration is full.

Online orders can be picked up from 4 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The Muslims4Community Food Pantry operates out of the Bentonville Islamic Center at 1801 SW 2nd Street in Bentonville. They can be contacted at 479-633-7275.