ROGERS, Ark — After more than a year of construction, the ribbon has been cut at the new Rogers facility for the Samaritan Community Center.
“Our new facility is 40,000 square feet, which is about twice what our old facility was,” said Executive Director Debbie Rambo.
Rambo says the nonprofit’s goal is “to help the hurting and hungry of Northwest Arkansas with dignity and compassion.”
“It’s really looking at each individual client and helping determine what areas of need they may be experiencing in their lives and what barriers they may be facing,” she added.
That includes nutrition programs and other services, like a dental clinic for adults.
“We operate a market, which is a food pantry where clients can come in and shop for groceries, we offer a café where we serve a hot meal,” Rambo said.
Rambo says the new Rogers facility is paving the way for more expansion to their programs, including the Samaritan Community Farm.
Staff members say the farm started as a small garden and now covers more than an acre.
“That not only provides food to our clients through our market, where they have access to fresh vegetables on a regular basis, but we also utilize a lot of that produce in our café so we can prepare healthy, nutritious meals,” Rambo said.
Also coming soon to the new facility are nutrition and cooking classes, a collaborative care center, and a mental health clinic.
Care Advocate Holly Sparks Hill says these new programs will help the nonprofit better serve the community and reach more families.
“Folks have complex lives, and so they often have other needs that aren't just getting groceries once a month from our food pantry. We're here to really serve in a more holistic way,” Hill said.
“Right now, we see between 5,000 and 6,000 families a year in our Rogers location,” Rambo said. “We expect that to grow by 25% this year, and the reality is, we have the space that over time, we expect that to double.”
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