Many in our community are suffering job loss due to the COVID-19 situation therefore more people than usual are requesting food from our local food banks and pantries.
The Food Bank of North Central Arkansas (Food Bank) and the other smaller independent food banks/pantries are in a crunch because many of their donations were coming from local major providers (i.e. Walmart, Harps, etc.) who are now unable to help because their supplies are selling out so rapidly.
The Food Bank has been working with the schools to provide 20 pound food packs to the kids/families in need. Their original estimate was that they would need 750K pounds of food between March 15th and the End of May to cover the current crisis needs and now they believe the figure will be more like 800K to 900K pounds.
In the spirit of giving that funds the Feed Our Children program each November, the NCBOR is stepping up now. NCBOR will offer matching funds up to $1,500 with a goal of providing the Food Bank with $3,100.00 to pay for the transportation of 4 truck loads of donated produce from the Walmart distribution center in Ft. Smith. This equates to 160,000 pounds of fresh produce over 6 to 8 weeks. The Food Bank is currently able to provide food for our community for a much lower cost. With your help the pantries can continue feeding our families and alleviating hunger in our area.
If you wish to donate, you may do so online at our North Central Board of REALTORS/MLS facebook page or you may send a check made payable to NCBCF – Feed Our Children. Checks should be mailed to 721 N. College Street, Mountain Home, AR 72653. We’ll be collecting funds until April 30th.
Thank you so much for your help!