Part two of a two-part series on feeding the hungry in Arkansas
While several parishes operate their own food pantries, smaller parishes partner with other churches and organizations in their community to have a greater impact.
St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff collects non-perishable food year-round for Neighbor to Neighbor, a local organization in Jefferson County.
“We have baskets in the church for donations,” secretary Pam Thornton told Arkansas Catholic over email. “During November and December, Neighbor to Neighbor gives additional food baskets to the needy for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They ask that our parishioners try to donate more non-perishable food items during these times. During December, they also ask that parishioners help sponsor a Christmas child for $60, so children will wake up on Christmas Day with toys and food on their tables.”
Deacon Mike Cumnock said St. Mary of the Springs Church in Hot Springs has been working alongside the Hot Springs Community Resource Center and the Jackson House in Garland County. He said the resource center serves as a heating center during the harshest winter days. This past winter, the center sheltered 110 people, 20 dogs and seven cats, and they’re preparing to serve even more people this winter. The situation was similar in recent weeks at the Jackson House, which provides a hot meal to those in need.
“They normally serve 130, and this Monday they topped 200 and ran out of food. Volunteers were digging through the freezer to cook more; they were down to making sandwiches,” he said.
Cumnock said there are approximately 12 food pantries in Hot Springs, and the ones he has spoken to have reported a steady increase. The City of Hot Springs has even changed the bus route to drive by the resource center.
“17,500 people in Garland County are food insecure, and 24 percent of those, or 4,196 children, are food insecure,” Cumnock said. “587,000 people in Arkansas are food insecure. … Hot Springs is a big retirement area, so a lot of these people are living on a fixed income.”
Holiday season
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Hot Springs Village adopts 40 to 50 families each holiday season.
“For Thanksgiving, our volunteers shop and deliver food items for a holiday meal,” food basket coordinator Susan Harrell wrote to Arkansas Catholic. “At Christmas, we purchase non-perishable food items from the food bank for approximately two weeks of food. All children in these families receive four clothing gifts from our Angel Tree. Our volunteers pick up the food, gifts and shop for perishable food. These are delivered to the families.”
Sacred Heart also supports local food pantries at area churches with monetary donations.
In 2022, St. Vincent de Paul Church partnered with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank to establish the Feed Rogers food pantry. Pantry visitors select their own food as opposed to receiving pre-packed food, according to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank website. Pantry visitors can schedule an appointment online or walk in and reserve a time. First-time visitors are provided with a member card to speed up future visits.
Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton contributes a monthly amount to the County Care Center to feed the people in need, taking up a special collection for the care center.
Our Lady of Fatima Church in Benton also assists the local food pantry through the Churches Joint Council on Human Needs (CJCOHN), an ecumenical gathering of 16 churches working to address food insecurity. Parishioner Linda Cartaya has been volunteering with the organization for 25 years.
“Our Lady of Fatima has given a second collection to CJCOHN for many, many years,” she said.
A Boy Scouts troop affiliated with Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Fatima School are currently running food drives for CJCOHN.
“We give out 250 boxes of food each time we work, and once it’s out, they’re turned away, because we also have our limit,” Cartaya said. “We have to be able to distribute food twice a month.”
Little free pantries
A few parishes have installed little free pantries, also known as blessing boxes. The boxes are discrete stalls, usually outside, full of nonperishable food items and hygiene supplies for anyone to freely take. The unregulated box helps to alleviate the stigma around food insecurity.
Deanna Briggler, secretary and bookkeeper at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Lincoln, said the church has had their little free pantry for around four years.
“We have the little blessing box behind our old church building, and we have several families in the church that try to keep it filled,” she said. “Judy Soulier is the person who started the pantry. Hank Hartman, one of our parishioners, built the box for us. It’s filled one day and empty the next now. It pretty much empties out overnight.”
In Fayetteville, St. Joseph School started a little free pantry several years ago, and thanks to the support of the church and school community, it continues to be restocked.
“The response from families wanting to help has been overwhelming,” said principal Deacon Jason Pohlmeier. “I estimate over 50 families have offered to help. So far, the challenge has been connecting with the families who need help. We have 55 students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, so I am confident we have families who are being impacted by the shutdown. However, these families are also resilient and work hard to make ends meet. They don’t often reach out in times of need because they know how to manage their struggles. My hope is that our families in need will reach out, because the desire to help is very strong.”
Father Mark Wood, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Malvern and St. Mary Church in Arkadelphia, said his parish is in charge of various blessing boxes around town.
“We have one of these blessing boxes on the parish property at St. John the Baptist in Malvern. It is very visible, right on the front of the church property, next to a busy street and easily accessible,” he said. “Our parishioners keep the blessing box stocked, and I often see people from the community, either walking or maybe on a bicycle, helping themselves to the food left in the blessing box.”
He’s noticed an uptick in the number of people served.
“It’s definitely been increasing,” Father Wood said. “There are 11 churches in the area that work together. … We do a food distribution once a month … and the number of people they’ve been serving has been going up every month for the last six months, maybe nine months. In October, they set a record — they served around 398 families, almost 1,000 people.”
Father Wood is thankful for the help people have offered, and hopes more people will come forward to help fill the gaps.
“To me, everything I know about Jesus Christ from the Gospels is he expects us to be involved in our community. That is not an option,” he said. “Part of the problem right now seems to be that people are so divided from one another in many ways. As Christians and as citizens, we should be involved in working cooperatively with our friends and neighbors. … Our faith has to be put into action.”
