Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is working with area schools to provide pantry staples to help augment meal preparation services. The Food Bank is sending boxes of non-perishable staples such as canned vegetables, pasta sauces, canned protein, soups, and pasta noodles. These items are provided at no charge to the schools and their families. Volunteer support is needed to assemble the products into boxes.  For more information on Northwest Arkansas Food Bank’s efforts, as well as resources available to families in need, please visit www.nwafoodbank.org.

Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is working closely with local and state officials, Feeding America and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance to make sure their response is fast, efficient, and effective. The Food Bank is coordinating directly with schools to eliminate any duplication of services to ensure an efficient and collaborative response to any food insecurity across northwest Arkansas communities.

“Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think the Food Bank would be forced to deal with an issue like Covid19.  But we will!  Working with our partner agencies, area schools, volunteers and supporters, we anticipate serving our clients for as long as this crisis exists.  Northwest Arkansans have always stepped up when a need arises, and I have no doubt we will see that same level of support this time. We will continue to focus on solutions without concern for who gets credit,” says Kent Eikenberry, President and CEO of Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

FINANCIAL DONATIONS NEEDED
The Food Bank is placing orders for multiple truckloads of food to stock up in this time of need. To fund these purchases, the public is encouraged to make a financial gift to the Food Bank’s COVID-19 NWA Response Fund. Donations can be made online through the COVID19 NWA Response Fund giving page. 100% of funds will remain local and be used to cover costs associated with local COVID-19 response efforts.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
There is an immediate need for volunteers to staff response efforts. Anyone who has not traveled outside of the United States or to an impacted area in the last 14 days, nor is experiencing symptoms of illness, is encouraged to sign up to join the Food Bank’s response efforts. Volunteers interested in helping out should sign up through the volunteer portal. Volunteer shifts and tasks are visible to all registered volunteers. Emails will be sent out to everyone registered through their volunteer portal as additional volunteer needs arise. To prevent the spread of the virus, the Food Bank asks that only pre-registered volunteers who have completed the COVID-19 waiver show up to volunteer.