The food pantry at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was this year’s recipient of the Hunger Hero award from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The award was presented at the annual agency luncheon in March at the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers.

The pantry, which joined the Food Bank in 2005, is one of the largest in Northwest Arkansas. It served more than 43,600 persons, representing 10,700 families last year, according to Pete Metzger, pantry manager. It averages 2,500 to 3,500 persons a month.

There were three reasons St. Vincent de Paul was chosen for the award, said Gerald Demory, director of strategic partnerships at the Food Bank. First, it is a client-choice pantry. Secondly, it is a USDA agency. And third, it is open for extended hours, weekends and evening.

“They are a great organization, doing a great job,” Demory said.

Serving clients from around Benton County, it is a client-choice pantry, where clients can choose the items that it wants from the pantry’s shelves.

By allowing client choice, there is less waste because people are taking what they will use, Metzger said.

“It also gives us a chance to interact with the clients,” Metzger said.

There are two sides to the pantry – one for USDA clients who go down the right side of the pantry and the left side is for higher income clients.

“Our clients appreciate the client-select process and the chance for us to interact,” Metzger said. “Sometimes you can see the desperation in their eyes. They’re concerned where their next meal will come from.

“We give a lot of compassion, love and understanding,” he added. “Our volunteers are excellent with that.”

The clients can pick out produce, which is put out in mass, Metzger said. The pantry gets most of its produce donated from the two Walmarts in Rogers and the pantry will make pickups at the stores six days a week