The holidays are just around the corner. It is regularly documented about increased stress around the holidays. There are many reasons for this: cooler weather, higher utilities; seasonal jobs such as landscaping slow down; even the fact that we leave for work in the dark and go home in the dark have an impact on each of us. For too many of our neighbors, food insecurity is at the top of their stress list. Our role is to help reduce that stress by putting food in local pantries who in turn distribute it to those in need. The fourth quarter is critical for our continued success. We need your help. Year-end giving helps support us through the lean first quarter of the year. Additional volunteers are needed to work through the food drive items and prepare these items for distribution. For your support, as always, I thank you.

Another event that is just around the corner is my birthday. Now I have had enough of these annual occurrences to view it as just another day so I try not to get overly excited. But this year is a little bit different. It’s not on my actual birthday, but later this month we are having a special volunteer opportunity for children under the age of 13 (our normal cutoff for volunteers). The three older Eikenbabies will be coming to volunteer that evening to work with Pops. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate.

It’s been a while since I excitedly announced the plans of Feed Rogers, a full- service, client choice pantry operated by the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank in partnership with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. I’d like to share a quick update. We are moving forward with the renovations necessary to the building, recruiting an on-site manager, establishing policies and procedures and are on track to open Q1 of 2022. I will share more details as they become available.

As 2021 is drawing to a close, I think now is as good a time as any to give a shout out to five individuals who are rolling off our Board of Directors at the end of the year. Leach Acoach, Shane Acosta, Spencer Tirey, Michele Tyler and Mary Zettle have been instrumental in the growth the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank has experienced. Since joining the board in 2015 or 2016, each of these five gave of their time, talent and treasure to make us better. Each of them possess an area of expertise that has been invaluable to me as I transitioned from my 40+ year in the newspaper industry to running a food bank. Because of you, someone will eat today.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

K

The food pantry at Sonora Baptist Church has one main goal: feed the children that come to their services.

The children in the area are bussed to the church every week for a hot dinner, and some take food home from the pantry when the

parents request it.

“We've had kids actually tell us, this is the best meal that we get all week,” Pastor of Sonora Baptist Church Danny Williams said.

Pastor Williams said that the food pantry was something that the church community was interested in doing in order to help families in the area. Today about 80 kids, and some adults as well, come to the church on Sunday and Wednesday nights for a hot meal.

Although the main source of food for clients of the food pantry are the Wednesday and Sunday meals, Pastor Williams said they also do

their best to send kids home with food to supplement those meals when possible. They use the food that they get from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and from donations to supplement the meals and ensure that the children in their community and their families have enough to eat. They also try to supplement with household necessities like shampoo and other things that families need.

“We've been doing this for, you know, a good long time,” Pastor Williams said. “So, it's truly been a blessing for us to be able to just see

smiles on kids’ faces that they're getting some food.”

Volunteers for the pantry cook the meals and do a few other jobs. One woman also keeps the pantry stocked and updated to ensure that the food is rotated and that none of it is outdated. Some volunteers deliver meals and supplemental foods to families who are unable to leave the house due to COVID-19.

The pantry is also accepting donations, and those interesting in donating can call the pantry to ask what they are in need of the most. That way, they can be sure to use all of the donations in a timely manner.

Though Sonora has never had to close their doors since COVID-19 hit, things are being done differently right now. They are ordering things online instead of going into stores to see what they need, and they are only serving the hot meals on Wednesday nights for the time being.

Pastor Williams said that the church community has suffered many difficult losses due to COVID-19. Several families have lost members, in some cases the breadwinners, and need help getting back on their feet.

“And I think that's what the food pantry is, to me and my thoughts,” Pastor Williams said, “the food pantry is to help families who are going through a hard time.”

The Sonora Baptist Church Food Pantry hosts their weekly meal for children at 6:30 PM on Wednesdays. They also have several church services and activities on Sundays. Details can be found on their website. They are located at 17330 E. Highway 412 in Springdale, Arkansas.

*ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF PASTOR DANNY WILLIAMS*

In the third quarter of 2021 we had a total of 318 agency reports (118 unique agencies), 39 mobile pantries (13 unique locations), 15 school pantries (12 unique locations) and 12 Tyson mobile pantries (4 unique locations).

Through the hard work of our staff, agencies and community partners together we fed 111,603 households & 305,407 individuals! (11.82% increase in households and 12.27% increase in individuals served compared to Q2 2021!)

From a total of 248,256 responses to the age group questions:

33.03% were children under the age of 18
10.75% were children 6 years or younger
22.28% were children 7 to 17 years old
22.68% were seniors 61 years or older

From a total of 223,955 responses to the county questions:

47.66% live in Washington County
40.29% live in Benton County
8.17% live in Carroll County
2.24% live in Madison County
1.65% live outside of our service area

The Arvest Foundation has awarded our organization with a $6,164.00 grant.

“Each year, the Foundation ask Arvest Bank Benton County to advise the Foundation of outstanding charities doing great work”, according to Naccaman G. Williams, Ed.D., Arvest Foundation. This grant will be used to purchase fresh produce and holiday meal items to be distributed through our Mobile Pantry Program in Benton County.

This grant comes at a time of year when items like this are so important to families that are needing a little extra help to help them enjoy the holidays a little more. Our organization is so thankful for our community partners and the support they give us each and every year.

Thank you, Arvest Foundation for being such a great community partner!

During the month of October, we were thrilled to have 90 individuals volunteer with us for a total of 451 hours. We love and appreciate each and every person that comes out and helps us in our warehouse, in our garden, or at one of our Mobile Pantries. We couldn’t do what we do without you! If you are interested in getting involved in our volunteer program, please visit www.nwafoodbank.org/volunteer . We have a variety of days and times available to fit your schedule.

Thank you for helping us feed those who are food insecure in our region.

FOOTBALL
Some of the Arkansas Razorback football team members joined our mission and helped tackle hunger in Northwest Arkansas. A group of seven gave over an hour of their time building and packing food boxes that we will be distributing to our neighbors in need at upcoming Mobile Pantries. The guys took on the challenge and packed 66 boxes! We appreciate the hard work they do on and off the field and our neighbors who face food insecurity will be equally as grateful.

More team members are scheduled to come in and volunteer last this month.

SOFTBALL

Looking to knock it out of the park, the Arkansas Razorback softball team joined in on the fun and volunteered with us, too this past month. We had a huge shipment of canned food donations come in without labels, and the ladies worked on getting those labeled for us. All the women were excited to give back to the community and help provide food to our food insecure neighbors! These ladies are class acts on and off the field, and we are so lucky they came in to help us help our neighbors in need.

Joel Gott Wines Donates to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Through ‘Gott For Good’ Initiative

California-based winemaker will help provide meals to people in need in honor of this holiday season.

In Northwest Arkansas, more than 80,000 people face hunger. Through its “Gott for Good” initiative, Joel Gott Wines will donate to help Northwest Arkansas Food Bank serve our neighbors in need.

Joel Gott introduced the Gott for Good program in 2019 based on his belief that every family deserves to have food on the table. Joel was able to donate to 26 Feeding America member food banks across the country within the first year of the Gott For Good program. Now, as Gott For Good continues its commitment for the third year, the program has been able to increase its reach to make an even greater impact throughout food banks nationwide.

Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is one of 131 food banks benefiting from the ‘Gott for Good’ initiative. This holiday season, Joel Gott Wines has made a commitment of a minimum of $250K to be donated.

The program runs until December 31, 2021.

About Joel Gott Wines

Since its founding by Joel and Sarah Gott in 1996 in St. Helena, California, Joel Gott Wines has selected the best fruit from growing regions in California, Oregon and Washington – each blended to create more balanced, clean, complex and elegant wines. More than twenty years later, Joel Gott Wines has maintained a legacy of giving customers expressive and food-friendly wines at great prices by partnering with vintners and vineyards with whom the Gott family has built relationships for generations. The Joel Gott Wines portfolio features five core California wines: 815 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the Palisades Red Wine Blend. In addition to these core wines, Joel Gott Wines produces a wide range of varietals that are produced from fruit from California and the Pacific Northwest. For more information visit www.gottwines.com .