Food box giveaway helps 500 families

Helpers add dash of holiday cheer

BENTONVILLE — An early Saturday morning snowfall in Northwest Arkansas didn’t keep volunteers or those in need of Christmas meal supplies away from the Kiwanis Club’s 63rd Guy Wilkerson Food Basket Giveaway.

The line wasn’t as long as usual around 8 a.m. when the giveaway got underway, and club President Bobby Smittle said he was growing a little bit concerned. But families kept steadily driving up to the 22nd Street location, and in a couple of hours all of the 500-plus boxes of food were gone.

“How many do you need?” a volunteer asked as one car rolled up.

The driver said she had six in her family and four in a family she was picking up for.

Two of the 65 volunteers grabbed boxes stuffed with canned and boxed goods, bread, potatoes, a chicken and sweets. They loaded them in the trunk of the car with a “Merry Christmas” and a “Have a blessed day,” while others carried more boxes out from inside a building, trying to work as a well-oiled, cheery machine.

Volunteers of all ages were out lending a hand. Many individuals and groups in the area have made participating in the giveaway a holiday tradition.

The city’s Trail Life USA troop arrived with a handful of boys ready to work. Troopmaster Keith Smith said the group has been participating since 2003, when it was still part of the Boy Scouts.

“It’s a great opportunity for [the troop members] to get service hours, but more importantly it’s a great opportunity during the Christmas holiday to help people that don’t have as much as you,” Smith said. “It’s a great learning experience, and the boys really enjoy.”

Smittle, now president of the Bentonville Kiwanis Club, started volunteering at the giveaway with his high school’s Key Club in 1975.

Back then, Guy Wilkerson was running the show. Wilkerson died in 2013, and the event was named in his honor.

“He was always faithful that it got done,” Smittle said.

Wilkerson began the giveaway in 1955, delivering the first 15 baskets to families in need around Bentonville.

Bob Sligar, current giveaway chairman, said the event now serves more than 500 families from around Northwest Arkansas. Sligar said the volunteers help anyone who drives or walks up.

“The whole goal of this is to make sure every family in Bentonville and the surrounding area has a good Christmas dinner,” Smittle said.

Bentonville resident Jabina Antolok was first in line about 6 a.m. She heard about the giveaway at church. She has three children and one on the way, and she lives with her husband and brother. Antolok said she just needed a little extra help to prepare a good Christmas meal for her family.

Kayla Church helped direct traffic as the sun crept up Saturday morning. She has been helping with the giveaway for six years, since she was in junior high.

The volunteer said some people feel embarrassed about being in line and asking for something they need. She has seen the strain that a loss of a family member or job — or other difficult situations — can put on a family around the holidays.

“We get to touch a lot of people’s lives,” Church said. “No one makes you feel judged. No one makes you feel like you shouldn’t be here.

“That’s what’s beautiful about the Bentonville community. If someone needs something, someone else is there to lend a hand.”