I like to think that I am a glass half full kind of guy. For the most part I am able to keep a positive attitude in spite of the negative vibes caused by the news. Now, I want to state this is not a political piece, but the current economic conditions make it difficult to maintain that positive attitude. Inflation and supply chain issues are hitting our neighbors in need in a disproportionate way. Their already stretched to the max budget is being stretched even further. Grocery staples, if found, cost more today than they did yesterday. Gas prices continue to escalate, making it harder and harder to get to work. Utility costs are higher. The list goes on and on. This is where the glass half full guy kicks in. I am so thankful that the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is there with a hand up for our neighbors who are suffering from food insecurity. Whether it be through one of our 110 partner agencies, at one of our mobile pantries or at Feed Rogers, nutritious food is just a stop away. We are there for those who need us. Every day! We can only provide this assistance through your generosity. Each dollar you give allows us to provide up to 8 meals, so even the smallest gift helps. So, on behalf of the thousands of neighbors who literally would not eat without the Food Bank, thank you for allowing me to maintain a positive attitude through these challenging times.

Speaking of being glass half full kind of guy…Diana and I just celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary and as I look back on our life together, our glass isn’t half full, it is overflowing.

Never in my wildest imagination way back in 1976 would I have ever imagined a family with three outstanding sons, two fabulous daughters- in- law and the six best Eikenbabies anyone could want. But in addition to our great family, Diana and I have a cup overflowing with blessings, both personal and professional. I know I have stated before that when we moved to Rogers in 1986 it was to be a short stint then we were to move on. Thirty-six years later, I wake up every day and get to come to the Food Bank to help food insecure neighbors feed their family. It doesn’t get any better. So, thank you, Diana for saying “yes” all those many years ago, and thank you Northwest Arkansas for working with the board and staff of the Food Bank to help make our corner of the world a better place to live.

If spring is any indication, this summer is going to be hot! Please make sure to check on your neighbors to make sure they are okay.

In closing, please accept my deepest thanks for all you do to support our mission. Food insecurity is too large of a problem for one organization to tackle. We have to work together. Whether you donate your time through volunteering or your treasure through donating, please remember we work hard to be good stewards of what you give us and that, because of you, someone will eat today. Have a great June.

K

Seeing the impact of food insecurity right in their hometown of Green Forest, two best friends, Catherine Miranda and Barbara Lynch, set out to try and feed those who didn’t have access to nutritious foods. The only thing stopping them, was a location. Being members of the Bethel Baptist Church, they knew there was a tiny house next to the church that would be the perfect spot to open up a food pantry. That was back in 1995, and neither of those women would have thought now, 27 years later, their dream of feeding their neighbors would have blossomed to feeding hundreds in a larger space.

With word spreading of the kindness of Miranda and Lynch, that small house on the church’s property wasn’t going to be enough space to accommodate the new amount of clientele. “They had all the food in there and they served so many people out of that small house so they had to build a building. It was way too small to serve as many people as they were serving,” says Deborah Spate, the director of Bethel Agape Food Pantry. So, in 2005, that dream also became a reality with a new warehouse being built. Miranda even helped with the majority of the financing.

From 1995-2017, Catherine Miranda was co-director of Bethel Agape. She worked to end food insecurity in her community right up until her passing. This role didn’t go to someone who was unfamiliar with Bethel Agape. Miranda’s co-director in the food pantry, Barbara Lynch, recommended her daughter, Deborah Spate, fill the position. Since 2017 Spate’s role as director has always been aimed at continuing the dream of her mother and Miranda, by trying to feed as many neighbors as possible in Carroll County, while having her faith close at heart. “I’m a Christian and I feel like we need to help those people, we offer Bibles to people and we have never really talked salvation with people but I feel it’s God calling me to do this. I feel it’s a big need in the community,” says Spate.

Fast forward to 2022, each Wednesday from 1-3pm Bethel Agape has its doors open ready to aid neighbors in their community. There are 12 volunteers that help out at the food pantry by passing out food, health products for adults, such as soap, shampoo, adult diapers if those are needed and even toilet paper. For families with infants, Bethel Agape staff and volunteers make sure they have diapers, wipes and children’s books on hand. “We always get good results, good positive comments, they’re very thankful,” says Spate. The weekly Wednesday distribution has brought upwards of 250 families each month, meeting 40-60 families per week.

When I asked Deborah Spate, what’s next for Bethel Agape, she replied with, “We are trying right now to build onto our building. We are waiting for grant monies or a donation to do that and we hope to be able to help as many people as we can.”

Bethel Agape is one of only two partner agencies serving our neighbors in Green Forest.

The McLeod Brothers' BIG Hoka Hey Adventure


Rogers Riders Support Northwest Arkansas Food Bank during National Motorcycle Challenge

Article courtesy of the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce

Rogers’ business owners, Rick McLeod, Farmers Insurance agent and his brother, Mike McLeod of Mike's Auto Works, are participating in the 2022 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge™, a 10,000 mile, multi-state motorcycle ride created to provide participants with an opportunity to test their endurance, patience and skill while facing and overcoming obstacles along the way. While the average number of miles ridden each day is about 750, the event is not a race. Rather it is a challenge where riders must abide by the speed limit and can’t finish in fewer than 240 hours, or 10 days.

This is Rick’s 3rd time to participate in the event that takes place every other year and Mike’s 2nd time. This year they are raising funds for the NWA Food Bank and have a goal to raise $10,000. “The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is heavily dependent on our community partners," shared Kent Eikenberry, President/CEO at Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. "With every dollar donated, we can provide up to 8 meals," he continued. "Given Rick and Mike’s goal of $10,000, we have the potential of distributing 80,000 meals to our neighbors in need. In addition to the money raised, the exposure of our mission that comes through something like Hoka Hey, is equally important.”

While the Hoka Hey Challenge organization strongly encourages each rider to raise money, it is not required for entry to the event. Even so, most riders do participate in some way. In 2020, the riders raised over $500,000 for charities across the country. Patrons may support the McLeod's ride by 1) making a donation to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank in the name of the McLeod Brothers Hoka Hey Ride. 2) following them on the Hoka Hey tracker, and liking and following their Facebook Page McLeod Brothers' Hoka Hey Adventure.

When asked about the support provided to make the ride possible, Rick responded, "Pigtrail Harley Davidson is indeed sponsoring us again this year, and we’re proud to partner with them! They work with us to defray costs associated with preparing the bikes for the event, and provide swag and other items we can use to raise money for the NWA Food Bank," he continued.

In 2020, the Hoka Hey riders came through Northwest Arkansas with a check point at Pig Trail Harley Davidson in Rogers. Both McLeods had welcome parties for their arrivals. Rick had a little more attention from the local dealer than anticipated when his bike, “Betty,” broke down in Van Horn, Texas and his wife, Naomi, was tasked with purchasing a new bike and the Pig Trail team delivered "Goose" to him allowing him to finish the ride a bit behind his goal, in 13 days. The 2022 event will begin and end in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The 2022 Hoka Hey Challenge kick-off date is June 26 from Rapid City South Dakota, Additional checkpoints include: Olathe, Kansas; Boise Idaho and Washington, Utah, but the riders don't know the order of each stop. The ride will end in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Finishers are considered an "elite Rider if they finish in 14 days. Among several additional rules to qualify as a "finisher," motorcycles will be limited to 6.2-gallon fuel tanks and may not use any sort of electronic navigation systems, or incur any type of moving violation, including: speeding, failure to signal, improper lane change, etc.

Organized by the Medicine Show LLC, the Hoka Hey was founded on the Lakota Sioux principal of WOLAKOTA and the event celebrates all that is pure and powerful in the warrior spirit. The theme of this year's ride is "Remember." The Lakota word is “KIKSUYA” which suggests we all have an inherent and ancient memory of community and compassion, respect, harmony, peace and friendship.

CLICK HERE to make a donation. https://www.facebook.com/McLeodBrothersHokaHeyChallenge/

$500,000 Investment Funded Mobile Pantry for One Year

Springdale, Ark., June 8, 2022 – As part of Tyson Foods’ continued commitment to support the communities it serves, the company donated 273,500 pounds of protein, the equivalent of more one million meals, through its mobile pantry sponsorship with Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

In May 2021, Tyson Foods awarded the food bank a $500,000 grant to support local hunger relief efforts. As of April 2022, thousands of residents in four Northwest Arkansas communities received pre-packed boxes available for pick up at designated sites.

The mobile pantries distributed essential food each month for 12 months to residents across Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville and Green Forest. As a result, Tyson Foods and the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank helped support 18,893 households and 78,924 individuals throughout 46 total food distributions.

"We are so grateful for the support to our Mobile Pantry program from Tyson Foods. Because of their generosity, we've been able to increase our distributions in Green Forest, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville,” said Sabrina Thiede, Director of Programs, Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. “Over the past year we've been able to provide nutritious food to over 18,000 households and nearly 79,000 individuals. It truly is a community effort to serve our neighbors and we're honored to have Tyson be a part of ours.”

“We’re proud to partner with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, and we look forward to continuing our support of the food bank’s dedication to helping our local community through greater food access,” said Tim Grailer, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Tyson Foods.

During a recent mobile pantry in Green Forest, a community member who received a donation said, "I'm blessed today. What you all are doing is such a blessing to me."

Another recipient said, "I just drove by and saw the sign and pulled in. I just took in a family member's child, and this will really help me feed them."

Tyson Foods is committed to raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. As part of that commitment, we believe that a resilient charitable food system is a critical part of building strong communities where our consumers and team members can live and thrive. We are collaborating with leaders in the charitable food system to identify areas of investment to increase the amount of high-quality and nutrition dense protein that reach the most vulnerable populations and provide equitable access.

About Tyson Foods, Inc.

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under four generations of family leadership, the Company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp® and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the Company had approximately 137,000 team members on October 2, 2021. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit www.tysonfoods.com.

About Northwest Arkansas Food Bank

Northwest Arkansas Food Bank (a 501c3 organization) was established in 1988 by a group of concerned citizens who saw the need for hunger assistance in Benton, Washington, Madison and Carroll counties. In 2021 the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank distributed more than 14 million meals. Together with more than 110 partner agencies, 20 mobile pantries, and 17 school pantries, we are able to reach out to those in need; providing nutritious food to children, the working poor and senior citizens. The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is an affiliate of Feeding America and a founding member of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.

Media Contact: Derek Burleson, 479-290-6466, derek.burleson@tyson.com

Please note we have made some adjustments to our Mobile Pantry schedule for the summer.

All changes went into effect June 1, 2022.

For the month of May, we had 210 volunteers serve a total of 977 hours.

We have added some additional volunteer opportunities and times, so please make sure you visit our website www.nwafoodbank.org/volunteer to sign up for a time that fits your schedule.

We appreciate you!

Are you looking for a rewarding career in the NWA region? We are hiring and would love to have you be a part of our growing team! To view the complete list of jobs available now, please visit our website www.nwafoodbank.org .