By: Rebekah Pipes
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – As the Spring semester comes to an end for schools, some students across the state of Arkansas look for their next meal.
Some elementary, middle, and high school students rely on the lunches provided during their school day to feed their hunger. Without those school meals, many families in the Northwest Arkansas area will need to turn to food pantries to survive.
The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank feeds tens of thousands of Arkansans in need every day. According to Kent Eikenberry, the NWA Food Bank’s Ceo and President, the food bank’s “mobile services division operates 14 regularly scheduled Mobile Pantries a month, plus pop-ups.”
Since the start of COVID-19 shutdowns last March, Mobile Pantries became the new normal for the NWA Food Bank. So, what is the Mobile Pantry?
The Mobile Pantry at the NWA Food Bank is a program that distributes pre-packaged meals across sixteen different Northwest Arkansas locations for first-come-first-served people once a month. These packages are given out the first Thursday of every month and contain foods that are shelf sustainable along with fresh produce.
Below are the dates and locations of the food pantries in Washington County.
Eikenberry shared that COVID-19 caused the pantry to significantly decrease in size and volunteers, but in the upcoming weeks they plan to open back up as normal and he encourages volunteers to sign up on their website.
There are many more organizations across the Northwest Arkansas area that fight hunger and poverty. Feed Communities, Big Brothers and Sisters of Northwest America, Hunger Relief Alliance, and many more.