Letter From Kent
As promised, here is my first, of what I hope will be many, years in review. 2016 was a good year here at the Food Bank. We were able to take many of the programs started by Marge and build on them, as well as coming up with a few of our own. I feel truly blessed to follow one of my closest friends in this position and every day I am thankful for the foundation she, the staff and the board built. I hope that when the time comes my successor can say the same about my tenure. So without further ado, here is a quick glance at some of the highlights from the past 12 months.
Retail Reclamation: We began sorting the reclaimed product in the spring. Prior to that point, we only distributed this by the pallet. One advantage is that any unusable items are discarded before distribution. Sorting also allowed us to identify which specific product is in these pallets which ultimately allows us to decrease our dependency on purchased product. We then are able to pass this savings on to our partner agencies allowing them to get more food for distribution.
Police Emergency Boxes: Last August we met with the Rogers Mayor and Police Chief and established a pilot program giving emergency food boxes to the police. They are on the streets every day and are in a position to see who needs aid, in some cases before anyone else. This program was successful, and in November we added Springdale. Plans are in place to add the other law enforcement offices starting this month with a goal of being in each by the end of June.
Senior Mobile Pantry: We have expanded this program to include three additional stops per month. Currently we are making distributions each Thursday (excluding the 5th Thursday). We go to Elkins, Fayetteville, Huntsville, Siloam Springs, Bella Vista, Bentonville and Lowell. Future plans are to add an 8th location, Prairie Grove, in February. We serve an average of 70 households per stop, supplying nutritious shelf stable food. Through a grant from Tyson, we purchased and converted a Ford 350 Van to a refrigerated unit so we can include protein to what each family receives.
Health and Hunger Summit: Together with UAMS and Feed Communities, we hosted a one day Health and Hunger Summit. Approximately 120 interested persons attended and heard speakers talk about nutrition, share best practices, and suggest ways the Food Bank could help get more food into the hands of those that need it. We considered this day to be very successful and have plans to build on it for the future. Look for a 2017 date to be announced soon.
Agency Capacity Grants: While I am excited about all that we have done in the past year, in my opinion this is the peak of our efforts. Working with the Walmart Foundation, we have been able to distribute grants to 16 of our partner agencies to expand their capacity to accept and distribute product. These grants have been used to buy refrigerators, freezers, do electrical work, supplement remodeling costs just to name a few ways. We anticipate a spring release of additional funds so more partner agencies can grow.
This is just a quick overview of some of the key programs we worked on. We continue to strive for ways to increase the amount of food we distribute with the goal of feeding those friends and neighbors who struggle each day with food insecurity. But we cannot do it without your help. Whether you represent an agency with direct contact with our client, a donor who sends money or a supplier who provides food product, you each play a critical role in our fight. Thank you all for your support in the past and the future. Together we can shorten the line and remember because of you someone ate today. Please feel free to stop by and see us any time. We would love to show you around.
