NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (KFSM)- Living Waters in Centerton is one of many churches doing its part to help families in need during the cold weather months. Its food pantry has seen a spike in recent days, said Diane Evans, pantry director.
“As we get closer to the holidays and people are thinking about heating their house and buying Christmas gifts and things along those lines, we start to see a real increase,” Evans said.
She said they’ve been helping families for the past five years. However, this year, she’s seen the most people.
“We’ve gone from serving 100 people to this week where we served 190 people, so the need has increased tremendously,” Evans said. “The other thing that we are seeing is that a lot of people who come actually work, these aren’t people that are looking for a handout, they just need a little extra help to get by.”
In Northwest Arkansas, 1 in 4 people are food insecure, according to the NWA Food Bank. The state average is 1 in 5.
The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank will benefit from the A & B Distributors “Stuff a Beer Truck” food drive. There are drop off locations in every Kum and Go locations in Benton County.
Some of the most needed items include: canned meats, canned vegetables, fruit cups, dried beans and dry rice, peanut butter and other shelf stable products, according to its news release.
The food bank’s partners will be collecting food until the end of November in time for the holiday season.
