Later this month, we will celebrate Volunteer Appreciation week. I want to start by talking about one particular volunteer who stepped up and will prove the theory, “The Power of One.” My friend Bob stopped by the Food Bank earlier today. He has taken it upon himself to present our message to those persons in Northwest Arkansas affiliated with the real estate business. Real estate growth has been good the past few years in our market so Bob is inviting real estate professionals to give back. Bob estimates there are 6,500 persons and 300 companies tied to real estate. Bob calculates that if each individual gave just $10 (typical daily lunch) and each company $50, collectively these professionals would raise approximately $80,000. One man with a passion, one man with a plan, one man who through the “Power of One” is making a difference.

John F. Kennedy said, “One person can make a difference and everyone should try.” Let me take this opportunity to tell you about another friend of the Food Bank who is making a difference. Sharon Etchison and Mike Bradbury opened Chicken Salad Chick in Fayetteville with the following thoughts in mind: “Spread Joy, Enrich Lives and Serve Others.” In addition to hosting multiple fundraisers for the Food Bank, both Mike and Sharon have volunteered and encourage their staff to volunteer. During the past year, COVID 19 has taken its toll. Reduced capacity has impacted area restaurants, but Sharon and Mike have not let that deter them from supporting the food insecure of Northwest Arkansas. They are making a difference.

Our mobile services division operates 14 regularly scheduled Mobile Pantries a month, plus pop-ups. Two friends of the Food Bank, Paula and Marty are there from the time the back gate goes up on the delivery truck until the time everything is packed up to haul away.

Paula has been volunteering at Mobile Pantries since the very beginning. By my calculations, the two of them have served nearly ¼ of a million food insecure clients. They have recruited other volunteers, they have given of themselves literally as well as figuratively and do it with a smile on their face. I really look forward to the limited number of times I get to work a Mobile Pantry, not just because seeing the clients renews my enthusiasm for what we do, but getting to work with volunteers like Paula and Marty make the day so enjoyable, even when they are calling me out for doing something wrong.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to my favorite volunteer of all- my wife Diana. I have often maintained she was a big part of the reason I got this job, a twofer if you will. Diana has worked many hours with our client services team training other volunteers on the Oasis Plus software which allows us to learn more about the clients we serve. She volunteers at our Mobile Pantries helping to register clients as they check in. In addition to these duties, she is always ready and willing to listen to me as I share an idea about improving service or reaching more people in need. I like to think that she represents the hundreds of other unsung heroes who simply step up and do what is needed when we ask.

I want to extend my deepest appreciation to not only these people, but the thousands who have stepped up over the past year to do their part in addressing food insecurity. COVID 19 forced us to significantly decrease the amount of volunteer opportunities. As we begin to open back up, with safety protocols in place, I invite you to check out our volunteer tab on our new website. I’m sure you will find something you will enjoy. I wish I could thank each of you individually. I pledge to do a better job getting out and saying hello to you when you are in the warehouse or at a mobile pantry.

Because of you, someone will eat today.

K

Egypt lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her two children, ages 13 and 11, and her 11-year-old niece. She moved there about three years ago from Flint, Michigan, and considers herself new to the area.When Egypt took in her niece, it became much harder for her to make ends meet. She was not receiving any support or government assistance for any of the three children, so she started looking for local resources. “It was hard to keep food in the house,” Egypt said.

A woman Egypt calls “Ms. Carla” lives in Rogers and works with the same clientele Egypt works with at her job as a Probation Parole Officer in drug court. Ms. Carla knew Egypt was struggling and pointed her in the direction of The Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church. The church was not far from her job, so Egypt started going there twice a month in October of 2020.

“Just being able to go get food has really relieved the burden,” Egypt said.

Knowing she has the St. James food pantry to go to for help with groceries, Egypt said she can now use the money she has on other essential items like rent, utilities, and gas. The pantry gives out fresh produce and other fresh products in addition to pre-packaged goods. Egypt said that she likes this because it gives her fresh products to work with, but also gets her kids excited about the snacks and other types of items that they like to eat. “It makes me feel like I’m doing my job,” Egypt said. “It makes me feel good, like I don’t have to let my kids go hungry. There is an option out there.”

Egypt said she is very appreciative of St. James church and their food pantry. She also said that Monique Jones, the Director of Evangelism & Outreach at The Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church, has been very helpful to her in the past. Egypt said there have been times when it was hard for her to make coming to collect food from the pantry during the week work, but Jones always made sure Egypt got what she needed. One weekend she even went to St. James on a Saturday to accommodate Egypt. “I didn’t know if I was going to have food to make it through the weekend,” Egypt said. “She really helped me. I really appreciated that… she didn’t have to do that.”

Egypt said she is very grateful to St. James and to everyone who donates to food banks and pantries and makes them possible. Food is one of the biggest bills in her household and in many other households, so without the help received from these banks and pantries, people like Egypt would not be able to get the help she needs. “What they are doing is really making a difference, and I really appreciate that,” she said. “I would just tell them I am really grateful for them doing that.”

For the month of March, we were able to serve

1,525 Households & 3,756 Individuals

through our 14 Mobile Pantry locations.

The ENRÃ Food Pantry, part of the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, had a very unique beginning. It was started in August of 2020, meaning it began right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese received grants from organizations such as University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Walmart. They decided the best way to utilize these funds and help the community would be to start a food pantry. Faith Laukon, the Coordinator at ENRÃ, was approached by the Director of the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, Melissa, and asked to help get the pantry started.

The goal of the pantry when it was first started was to help families and individuals in the community who were suffering the effects of COVID-19 and quarantine. In most cases, these people were not receiving a paycheck for their two weeks of quarantining and needed help. Although started to help people in the Marshallese community, Faith said they did not want to stop there. “We’re open to helping the entire community,” Faith said.

“We don’t just help the Marshallese folks” When they first opened, ENRÃ was open three days a week and allowed clients to set appointments and come into the building to choose their food. However, due to a significant rise in requests and COVID-19 regulations, they have now decided to open one day a week and pre-package food. Clients can come on the day and pop their trunks, and ENRÃ volunteers put the food inside. Faith said they have gone from 40 requests to pick-up per week to around 100 per day.

In fact, as the interview was being conducted, Faith received a text message with a request. “‘Can we come now?’” she read. At the food pantry’s beginning, Faith said they would personally deliver food once a week, sometimes more, to people who were quarantining and could not leave the house. However, this was a lot of work for the ENRÃ volunteers. “Sometimes we wouldn’t get done until 2 in the morning,” Faith said, “and we had started at 6 in the morning.” To solve this problem, Faith said they started using Walmart’s Door Dash services to deliver to quarantined families. Faith puts in the order to Walmart, then a Door Dash worker delivers it from Walmart directly to the home of the quarantined client.

ENRÃ also has giveaways of food baskets on special occasions such as Halloween or back-to-school. Faith said thousands of families have been helped through these giveaways alone. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is also available through ENRÃ.

Faith purchases things like face masks and bleach herself, but also receives items through donations from UAMS, Crystal Bridges, and other organizations. Faith estimates that the ratio of donations and items and food purchased for distribution is about 50/50. “We do get a lot of donations,” she said. She orders food from the NWA Food Bank at least once a week and gets several donations throughout the week as well. “I am never going to say no. It just doesn’t happen,” she said. “But it’s been great!” Faith said volunteers are needed for things such as stocking shelves after orders and donations come in. They are also encouraged to help out with giveaways as well. ENRÃ is located at 4024 Wagon Wheel Rd in Springdale, Arkansas.

IN 2020 WE HAD 1,067 VOLUNTEERS SERVE 4,580 HOURS!

TO VOLUNTEER - WWW.NWAFOODBANK.ORG/VOLUNTEER
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION WEEK IS APRIL 22-26

For the month of March, we were blessed to have 86 volunteers serve a total of 370 hours with us. We couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers!

If you or your family, friends, or co-workers are interested in volunteering, please visit www.nwafoodbank.org/volunteer to pick your shift.

We are taking extra precautions to help keep everyone safe and are still following the recommended CDC Covid-19 safety guidelines.