Christmas is a time to give to those we love and to those in need.
For many, their needs extend beyond the holiday calendar, though. Charitable organizations, churches, schools and individuals in the northwest Arkansas area have responded to these needs in big and small ways, reminding all of us what help can look like.
Feeding the masses
One notable organization that has served the region for 35 years and has grown into just one of the area’s flagship nonprofits is the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. Located in Lowell, the Food Bank works as a wholesale grocer by purchasing or accepting donations of food and then distributing the food through partners. This year, the Food Bank introduced the Advent box to give people a means to tie in their holiday giving by helping those experiencing food insecurity.
President and CEO Kent Eikenberry, a longtime parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Rogers, stresses that hunger is a year-round need.
“NWA Food Bank is here to help with that,” said Eikenberry, who points out that most of their clients are employed or on disability and money to pay all the bills or get enough groceries is scarce due to the rising cost of living.
“The Advent box works just like a traditional Advent Calendar,” Eikenberry said. “Each day, a family would add a shelf-stable item, such as peanut butter or a can of sweet potatoes, until Dec. 20, and then the boxes will be collected and distributed,” Eikenberry said.
One of six food banks in the state that works to help put food on the table for the food insecure, the NWA Food Bank will have distributed around 15 million pounds of food in 2024. That number is up from 14 million in 2023.
“I really do consider this a calling,” said Eikenberry, who was in the newspaper business for more than 40 years before his call to serve with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. “You have to have faith to be in this business, and I really believe this is where God wants me to be. I tell people that Jesus was the original food bank. Jesus took the five barley loaves and two fishes and distributed it to hundreds.”
One by one
While the NWA Food Bank works to tackle the problem on a broad scale, others have seen individuals in need on the street corner in their own city and decided to do what they could.
One such family is the Hernandez family, who have been parishioners at St. Joseph Parish in Fayetteville for more than 20 years.
Each Sunday, the family prepares easy meals, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, water, Gatorade and other snacks. Afterward, they pack the items into the back of their car with their children and head out to a few parks and parking lots to distribute the food. Since beginning their Sunday ministry in August, the patrons have increased from 15 to about 50 people.
Mayela Hernandez, mom and the drive for getting involved, saw the need when she had a personal encounter with an individual.
“I felt called to do something,” she said, “You realize many of these individuals experiencing homelessness are out on the street because of mental illness and may be needing medical help to get better. It is not always a financial need, and they do not always want to be in this position.”
Hernandez’s older daughter, who served in the military in Iraq, prompted her inspiration. Like her daughter, she found there were people who had experienced a trauma in their life that triggered a spiral of events.
“I met a nurse that had an emotional breakdown, traveled across the country and was living in her car,” Hernandez said. “That connection with her showed me that sometimes people just need help to get to the other side.”
The family’s small trunk ministry has garnered a few donations specific to what she is preparing that week, but Hernandez said, “God is helping us make ends meet.”
Warm for the winter
Help doesn’t always have to be heroic, though. It can be as simple as seeing a greater need portrayed on social media and responding. Leslie Reyes, a sophomore at Ozark Catholic Academy in Tontitown, did just that.
“I saw a TikTok of people needing coats and decided we could do something to help,” said Reyes, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Fayetteville.
As president of the Sustainability Club at her school, she asked another club president, Grace Dickinson, if the Corporal Works of Mercy Club would want to do a coat fundraiser. Within a week, the two clubs received donations from other students for gently used outerwear.
Both students were surprised at the donations they received and plan to donate the items before semester finals begin at their school.
