Blog Post

Hutchinson proclaims Hunger Action Month

  • By Tom A. Throne
  • 19 Sep, 2017
Pictured above, those attending the Arkansas Hunger Action Month proclamation signing in Little Rock were Mike Ichniowski, River Valley Food Bank; Kathy Webb, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance; Christie Jordan, Foodbank of Northeast Arkansas; Gov. Asa Hutchinson; Camille Wrinkle, Harvest Regional Food Bank; Rhonda Sanders, Arkansas Food Bank; and Kent Eikenberry, Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently proclaimed September as Arkansas Hunger Action Month and Sept. 14 as Hunger Action Day. The proclamation signing took place on Aug. 21 in his office in Little Rock.

In attendance were leaders of six hunger relief agencies in the state, the River Valley Food Bank, Fort Smith; Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Little Rock; Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, Jonesboro; Harvest Regional Food Bank, Texarkana; Arkansas Food Bank, Little Rock; and the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Bethel Heights.

According to the proclamation, 19 percent of Arkansans struggle to provide enough food for their families and 25 percent of its children wonder where their next meal will come from.

Arkansas has the highest percentage of hungry seniors of any state in the country and second highest percentage of citizens facing the most severe threat of hunger.

“No child, senior citizen, man, or woman deserves to go without food. Cognitive-learning deficits and failure-to-thrive syndrome in children, recurring illnesses among seniors, lack of productivity, and absences from work, along with long-term social and economic impact are among the damaging effects of food deprivation,” according to the proclamation.

By Mallory Morris 07 Feb, 2024
Letter From Our President & CEO – December 10th, 2023
By NWA Food Bank 05 Jan, 2024
Letter From Our President & CEO – November 10th, 2023
By NWA Food Bank 07 Dec, 2023
Those of you who know me well will know how difficult it is for me to write this. Simply stated, I don’t like drawing attention to myself. However, since it was done with the Food Bank mission in mind, I encourage you to pick up a copy of October’s Celebrate Magazine. I believe you will recognize the guy on the cover, even if you don’t recognize my friend, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the CEO of Feeding America. A couple of months ago, Wylie Elliott approached me with the idea of featuring our fight against food insecurity in their magazine. I responded that our fight here in Northwest Arkansas is just one of the struggles across the nation and suggested we include Feeding America. The photos and the article do a wonderful job of showing the collaboration between our two organizations and the support of the business community not only here, but beyond.

Hunger action month is over. I haven’t worn orange yet this month, but that doesn’t mean I won’t. I pledge to take advantage of every opportunity to bring awareness to the problem of food insecurity. If that means wearing an orange shirt, or an orange tie, or an orange cap, I will. Last week I was interviewed on the KNWA morning show while at the Walmart NWA Championship presented by P & G. We received a generous donation from the tournament but, as I told Perry, the exposure the Food Bank receives from being supported by events such as the tournament helps bring the problem to the forefront of the public.

“I had no idea your building was going to be that big. It’s huge!”

If I heard it once recently, I’ve heard it a hundred times. And each time I hear it I give the same answer. “It’s not my building, it is the community’s. Plus, there is a reason we built it so large.” While going through the design phase, we determined that it would not cost that much more to build a facility that will take us through projected population growth to at least 1.5 million people. That sounds like a big number, but at a growth rate of 30+ per day it will be here before we know it. Several hundred people have stepped forward and donated to the capital campaign, thereby stating that a new building will be one of the tools to fight food insecurity. Not just today, but for years to come. I may not be around to see it, but whoever follows me will have a facility that will serve the needs of all future Northwest Arkansans.

It costs a lot of money to do what we do. We are projecting to spend over $3 million this year on food alone. As we enter into the fourth quarter of the year, I ask you to be mindful of the struggles the working poor are having. Is there money to pay rent, pay the utilities, feed and clothe the family? Is there money to cover prescription medicine if needed? Are my SNAP benefits going away? You have helped the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank answer all these questions by providing us the support to put food on the table of those who need it. You help turn a look of despair into a look of hope. We cannot do it without your help. So, as this year comes to a close, I encourage you to help someone you don’t know feed their family by a gift to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. Thank you in advance.

Because of you, someone will eat today

K
By The NWA Food Bank 08 Nov, 2023

September is Hunger Action Month.  It’s time for me to resume my annual quest of wearing orange every working day of September. I have had several folks ask me why I established my “orange challenge.” To restate, orange is the color representing food insecurity. Our NWAFB logo, “No kids Hungry”, The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and Feeding America all have orange as an integral color. Any opportunity I get to bring attention to the need is a success. Monetary donations help pay the bills. Money helps put food on the tables of those in need. Advocacy is equally as important. Too many people are hungry and too few people realize the need is a great as it is. I have been proud to wear orange every day in past Septembers, and I am looking forward to putting my orange on. I even have some new orange shirts to add to the rotation. I invite you to accept this as my challenge to you to wear orange also. Please snap a selfie of you in an orange shirt or blouse and email it to me at kent@nwafoodbank.org  and I will share it on our social media platforms. Well, technically I will have Julie or Catherine share the photos.

On August 25 we celebrated some of our recent successes at our Jewels of Giving Celebration. The biggest part of that night of celebration was the announcement that the new facility in Lowell was to be named the Claude and Betty Harris Center for Hunger Relief. The Harris family have been supporters of our Food Bank since the beginning and were one of, if not the first donor to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.  

Don Harris, the Harris Foundation Board Chair, stated: “As a Foundation it's been a blessing to support the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank over the years. The new facility in Lowell launches the next chapter of programming and services to address food insecurity in a vibrant, growing region of the country. We are humbled that the organization is honoring our Founders, Claude and Betty Harris, in conjunction with the new operating space. We also believe this is only one small part of what it takes to impact feeding those in our community. A building is nothing without leadership, staff, volunteers, corporate sponsors, churches, donors, food pantries and all the other tentacles of support needed to serve those most vulnerable here at home. It is those people and organizations that are the real key to success and we are so appreciative of what they do."

Please join me in expressing our deepest appreciation to the Harris family for all of their support over the years.

Speaking of the Claude and Betty Harris Center for Hunger Relief, construction progress is really picking up. After a significant number of down days due to wet ground, we have dried out and picked up the pace. It remains our goal that we will celebrate our 36th Anniversary in the new facility in June of 2024. Please take a few moments and drive by the intersection of Pleasant Grove Road and Highway 71B in north Lowell and see what your support is building for tomorrow’s needs.

Thank you all so very much for your support. Whether you are a monthly donor, a once a year donor, contribute to a food drive, support our efforts through advocacy, use our services, or simply remember we are there for those who need our help, you make us better today than we were yesterday.

Because of you, someone will eat today.

K

By The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank 08 Nov, 2023

It is hard to believe that back- to- school time is here. Today, children are experiencing that mixed feeling of excitement of going back to school to see their friends and the disappointment that the freedom of summer is over.  

There are a couple of other things that excite a lot of students about returning to schools. One is school lunch. They know that every day they will receive a balanced meal for lunch, and in some cases, also get breakfast at school. The second is the school pantry program, a service of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.  

We ended the 2022-2023 school year with 16 active school pantries. Additionally, we are working with four other schools on a program to provide food for their school pantry, totaling 20 fully operational. There are 19 school districts in our four-county service area. Of those, nine have a free and reduced lunch percentage of 50% or higher. We are currently operating school pantries in six of those nine districts. I think it is important to point out that we have at least one school pantry in each county we serve.

It is also important to point out that the school pantries would not exist without the commitment of the school administration and staff where they are located. This is a commitment to supporting not only the educational and emotional needs of the students, but also the nutritional needs of the entire family.

For more information about school pantries, please email Sabrina Thiede, our programs director at: sabrina.thiede@nwafoodbank.org.

This is from my files published in 2021. What a difference two years makes.  

“I know it is August because the calendar says so. However, you would not know it during my early morning walks. Temperatures the past few days have ranged from the low to upper 60’s, making my time on the trail system of Rogers much more pleasant. What does my renewed commitment to walking and the temperature have to do with food insecurity you might ask? I’m really not sure, I do know that when I walk, I have 40-45 minutes of quiet time to reflect, usually much of that time is spent thinking about how blessed I am to live and work in Northwest Arkansas; how thankful I am to work at the Food Bank supporting a mission I believe wholeheartedly in; and how important each and every one of you is in the fight against hunger. I try to say it a lot, but I don’t say it enough…Thank you for all you do to allow us to help our friends and neighbors.”

Now the part about being thankful is certainly consistent, but this morning it was 80+ degrees before the sun came up. You certainly can tell it is August when you step outside. Heat takes its toll on people in a variety of ways. For a food insecure individual who lives in an un-airconditioned residence, having a healthy diet is even more important.

I want to give a shout out to our staff and volunteers who are working hard in trying conditions every day. I’m sure this will not encourage you to volunteer, but earlier this week at 3PM, it was 95 degrees in our warehouse. Yet every day our staff and many volunteers brave that heat because they know our neighbors need our help. If you are interested in volunteering to help, please check out the volunteer tab on our website.  

September is Hunger Action Month. Again, this year, I will pick an orange shirt out of my closet EVERY DAY to wear to work. I’m still working up the courage to dye my beard orange….one of these years! More details on Hunger Action Month coming soon!

Speaking of the calendar, September is the start of football season. Every team is still undefeated and every team has high hopes. Did you know that the Razorback stadium will seat over 70,000? Imagine all those people calling the Hogs. Now imagine that 100% of those cheering fans are food insecure. That’s right, over 70,000 of your northwest Arkansas neighbors do not have enough resources to put a complete meal on the table when it is time to eat.

Finally, I want to encourage you to drive by the intersection of 71B and Pleasant Grove in north Lowell to take a glance at what you, the Northwest Arkansas community, are building. The Center for Hunger Relief is one more tool that we will use in the fight against food insecurity, not just for today, but for many years to come. Next month I will share some of the features the building will have that we do not have in our current facility.

Stay hydrated and as cool as possible, and remember that because of you, someone will eat today.

K

By Mallory Morris 08 Nov, 2023
I’ve often stated that I find inspiration in the strangest places. And in my case, I can transition nearly every inspiring thing I see into a story about food Insecurity. I also will readily admit that when I see a good idea in some other city, I will unapologetically steal it. That exact thing happened this past weekend. While on the third annual Eikenboys baseball trip, this year to St. Louis, we saw a sign for a fund-raising promotion the “Cardinal’s Families” was doing. As I was taking a picture of the sign, one of my three sons asked what I was doing. Before I could answer, one of the others responded with “you’re going to see that promotion in Northwest Arkansas next year.” Just as food insecurity is a world-wide problem, ideas of how to raise money to fight it can also be found world-wide if we just keep our eyes open. Stay tuned…….

Our Jewels of Giving Celebration is just a few weeks away. This year it will be Friday, August 25 at Heroncrest in Elm Springs. It will be more casual than years past, so instead of looking for an orange tie to go with my tuxedo, yesterday Diana and I bought two more orange shirts (I couldn’t decide which one I liked) so I think I am all set except for writing my remarks. Spoiler alert….my remarks this year will include a huge announcement (and no, I’m not retiring). Anyway, I hope you can join us for a more casual evening of celebrating the successes we have had in the past year including a progress update on the construction of the new Center for Hunger Relief.

I think I have told you all that each month when I sit down to write this I look back through past columns to see if I can find some thought starters. Following is a segment taken from July, 2018.

“Do you know where the Food Bank gets the food we distribute? We get it from several places. First, we get supplier donations. This list is not all inclusive. We get regular protein donations from Tyson Foods, Cargill and Smithfield. We get rescue food from our retail partners, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Harp’s, 10 Box, Aldi’s, and Kum & Go. We also spend nearly $1 million per year for items we do not get donated. Our staff works hard every day to find the best possible price if we have to purchase an item, as well as searching for possible partners (like the ones listed) who have a product we need that they might donate. Currently we are searching for items such as peanut butter and canned tuna or other canned meats.”

Please note that in 2018 we were spending nearly $1 million to purchase food. This year we are projecting to spend over $2.9 million. Part of that increase is due to inflation, but most of it is because of the increased need. As more and more people continue to move to Northwest Arkansas, the number of food insecure neighbors continues to rise.

But as I have said so many times before, those food insecure neighbors know they can get help from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. Help we can only provide because of your generous support of our mission. Because of you, someone will eat today.

Thanks
K
By Mallory Morris 05 Jul, 2023

“One hungry person is one too many.” It’s worse if that hungry person is a child. By last count Feeding America estimates there are approximately 18,000 young people about to enter summer vacation hungry in our four-county service area. With school out, the safety net of school lunch, breakfast in the classroom, snack pack programs and school pantries are not available. I often tell people there is no slow time of the year for hunger. It never takes a break. However, summer vacation time puts additional stress on families and our partner agencies.  

I remember as a child looking forward to summer vacation. Time off from school meant days of baseball or swimming with friends. Carefree days in the sun. But every one of those days ended with me going home to a nutritious home cooked meal. My mom always had enough for all of my friends who wanted to stay and have some of whatever she had fixed that day. Like I said, I looked forward to summer vacation. Hungry children do not have that luxury. In many cases they are afraid of how they will survive while school is out. Where will the food come from? You can help us stock our partner agencies for the increased summer need. Thank you for helping us prepare.

This morning I had the opportunity to be the program at a local civic group. I shared with them some information about the current Food Bank, the work we do and talked a little about the future which includes the new Center for Hunger Relief. During the question period, one of the members asked “what is your most pressing need?” I responded with “knowledge”. Knowledge and understanding by the community that there is a food insecurity problem. I think he was surprised that I didn’t say more donations or more volunteers but that I emphasized that I needed more people to know why we do what we do. Later in the day I ran into an old friend who I had not seen for several years. I was sharing this story with him and he suggested that we all have on blinders and until an issue touches us directly, we don’t necessarily pay attention. He’s right. But food insecurity does touch us all.

By NWA FOOD BANK 05 Jul, 2023

WE HAVE WALLS!

I didn’t know if this day was ever going to get here, but the warehouse walls are up on the new Center for Hunger Relief. There is still a lot of construction to happen, but at least we can see the fruits of our efforts. For those of you keeping track, we had our ceremonial groundbreaking in June 2022. One of the key reasons was out of respect for June Self, our founder. It certainly is not lost on me that the most visible signs of progress can be seen in June 2023.

If you happen to drive by the construction site and think to yourself,” wow this is huge.” Why does the Food Bank need a building this massive? Population projections show Northwest Arkansas to top 1 million residents in a few short years. More population means more need. As we prepared for the construction of the new Center for Hunger Relief, the staff visited lots of Food Banks across the country. Almost every one of them said they built too small and they were having to go back to their donors with a second capital campaign to build on. We are hoping to avoid that by building for the future.

By Northwest Arkansas Food Bank 07 Jun, 2023
Sometimes life is just inches away from disaster. I’m somewhat embarrassed to share this story but if you will indulge it, there is a reason. Earlier this week, I headed out for my pre-dawn walk and reflection time. I was about two blocks from my house when a car came down the street. I stepped up into a driveway, like I have done thousands of times before. After the car passed, I started to walk again, only to trip on the curb and face plant onto the street. Fortunately, I was not badly hurt. A couple of scrapes on my nose and forehead and a cut on one hand. But where I am going with this is that one of my first thoughts was of a friend who had fallen while jogging, who dislodged her brain and went through a two- year recovery cycle. I also thought of my friend Bob, who runs a non-profit in Las Vegas for persons who have developmental issues or who have had some type of brain trauma. I sure didn’t want to be one of his clients. I share this story to remind us of what I often say, we are all “this close” to needing assistance. One misstep can make all the difference in the world.

Speaking of “this close” to needing help, many of the people we see today at food pantries or at our mobile pantries have not needed food assistance in the past. Whether it is because of gas prices, utility prices, overall inflation, or an unplanned expense, they have moved from being close to the edge to falling off the edge and needing help. Since 1988 the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank has been there as a safety net for those who need nutritious food. We cannot do it without your support, so thank you for putting your trust in us to support our neighbors in need.

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will see some photos showing the progress of the new Center for Hunger Relief. While we have lost several days due to weather, progress is moving forward on a building all of Northwest Arkansas can be proud of and be a part of. We are in the final stages of our Food For Today/Hope For Tomorrow capital campaign. We truly do want this to be the community’s Food Bank, so for information of how you can help make this dream a reality, and join the nearly 300 donors who have already contributed to the campaign, please go to hope.nwafoodbank.org. Thank you for your consideration.

It takes us all. April is National Volunteer Month. I want to give a giant thank you to all of you out there who volunteer. Whether you are packing boxes, bagging beans (as the group working today is doing), stocking shelves at Feed Rogers, working at a mobile pantry, harvesting or hoeing in the garden, or doing any one of hundreds of other volunteer tasks, you make a difference. Last year 1,664 individuals volunteered a total of 12,263 hours. That’s the equivalent of six full time employees. I cannot begin to thank you all enough for what you do.


I hope you enjoy reading this edition of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank monthly newsletter. If you come across anything that piques your interest, please don’t hesitate to give us a call for more information.


Because of you, someone will eat today

K

By Northwest Arkansas Food Bank 08 May, 2023
There are multiple definitions for the word share. As a verb is means to give a portion of something to someone else. From the time we were toddlers, we have been taught to share.

“Let your sister play with that toy.”
“Don’t eat it all, give your brother part of that cake.”
“If you don’t learn to share, you will be put in time out.”

You get the picture. But the above examples are negative reinforcements of “sharing.” We’ve all seen the heartwarming pictures of a small child generously offering to share whatever he or she has with a friend, a family member and, in some cases, someone they don’t even know. There are over 6,400 of you out there who have shared what they have with those less fortunate through your donation to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. That’s right, in 2022 we had over 6,400 individuals make donations to us to help us serve our neighbors in need. Simply stated, we could not do what we do without you. On behalf of the 70,000 plus neighbors we serve, please let me express my deepest appreciation and gratitude.

Speaking of sharing, there are many, many great organizations out there working to make Northwest Arkansas a better place to live. I want to express my thanks to people who support those other organizations as well as, or even instead of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. For as it has been said many times, we are better together and any investment in our community is a step in the right direction.

Can you imagine, after working your entire life, sitting down at the kitchen table with your spouse, not to eat, but to decide if you are going to turn on the heat? Or are you going to take your medicine? Or which bill is the most pressing and must be paid before services are turned off? Maybe after all these are taken care of, you finally look in the cabinet for something to eat-and the cupboard is bare!

That’s life for approximately 17% of those Arkansans over the age of 60.* (source: Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance)

If you cannot visualize what life is like for these neighbors, perhaps this story will better illustrate it.

Several years ago I was volunteering at my church food pantry when a friend of mine came in. Now he was retired as a civil employee and had owned his own business so I was shocked to see him. With a tear in his eye he shared the reason. “Kent, you know my wife has been sick. We have spent our entire savings on medicine and treatment. My grandchildren are coming and we don’t have anything to feed them and I cannot imagine having to tell them there is nothing for them to eat.”

Thankfully, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is there to help my friend, and the thousands who, like him, are experiencing food insecurity. But we can only be there with your help. Your donations provide more than just food, they provide security in the fact that those in need can feed their grandchildren when they come visit.

Because of you, someone will eat today.

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