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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Hunger is an increasing concern in this country, as more and more
WORDS Liesel Schmidt images courtesy River Valley Regional Food Bank
economic crisis, when unmet needs become even more of an issue.
families face financial hardship and struggle to put food on the table. Fortunately, we as a nation are becoming more aware of this issue; and many programs have been set up to provide assistance to those in need. Particularly hard times for those less fortunate are times of national These are also the times when mercy is at its height: food pantries redouble their efforts to collect and distribute food items and meals, soup kitchens beef-up their volunteer staff in preparation for extra mouths to feed, and community-wide initiatives are set in motion to address the problem. The battle could not be so well-fought without organizations like the River Valley Regional Food Bank, whose mission of feeding the hungry began in 1986. Begun as a small operation, the food bank now provides service to 166 member pantry agencies throughout eight counties in the Arkansas River Valley. The River Valley Regional Food Bank is a member of the Feeding America network as well as a member of the United Way of Fort Smith Area. As one of six Feeding America food banks in the state of Arkansas, River Valley Regional Food Bank, like its five counterparts, works in conjunction with Feeding America and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance in Little Rock. “We are a not-for-profit agency whose mission is specifically to alleviate hunger in Arkansas’s River Valley,” says Director Tracy Engel. “We are responsible for the acquisition and distribution of nutritious food and other items to the public through a broad network of private not-for-profit member agencies, and we provide this service to those in need. Our programs enable improved service to 166 member agencies and the residents they serve.” To put it in perspective, River Valley Regional Food Bank estimates that it serves approximately 88,000 residents monthly, which roughly translates to 1,056,000 people a year. That’s more than a million people who depend on them annually, more than a million mouths to feed and hungry bellies to fill. The numbers are staggering, but the food bank has been facing the crisis head-on for thirty-five years. In fact, they’ve served more than 12 million people over the course of those three decades—and the numbers seem to rise rather than fall. That rise in need is a challenge, as it is for food banks around the country—particularly over the past eighteen months. “The primary
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