Harvest Texarkana works to help area families through lean times during holidays

Many families in this region face hard times during the holidays.

Harvest Texarkana Regional Foodbank Inc. works with nearly 100 partner agencies to help meet the needs of those who may not have enough to eat.

“Absolutely the needs go up during this time of year,” said Camille Wrinkle, Harvest Texarkana executive director. “The holidays are a wonderful time of year, but they're also a time of struggle for a lot of those families we serve.”

This is a time of year when expenses and needs go up.

“Not only are struggling families trying to make ends meet, they're also trying to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas for their families on top of that,” Wrinkle said. “In addition to that, children who normally have access to free and reduced meals at school are going into a time when they won't have access to that. So we really see a large push right now to try and get the pantries filled up, because these families are going to need extra to get them through the holidays and winter months.

“Aside from the holidays, we're also getting to the time of year when people are having to make the choice to heat or eat. They make the choice between food and their gas bill. Their utilities and gas bills are going up, so that's just an added struggle for these families,” she said. “They're trying to provide coats and winter clothing for families and children. There are just a lot of added costs and challenges around the holidays and into the winter months.”

Harvest Texarkana's partner agencies are able to purchase food for a shared maintenance fee of .19 cents per pound.

Other programs provided by the agency include food rescue, mobile pantries and the backpack program.

“The food rescue is where we pick up perishable but still nutritious food and deliver those to area pantries, shelters and soup kitchens at no cost to them whatsoever,” Wrinkle said. “With our mobile pantry, we deliver food straight from our trucks to rural, low-income areas where there is little or no hunger relief—at no cost to the family or individuals. With our backpack program, we serve right at 700 students.”

Donations of food or money help Harvest Texarkana meet the needs in its service area.

“It takes everyone pulling together. We benefit from donations of food, as well as money. For every dollar someone donates, we're able to secure enough food to provide 5 1/2 meals. We are able to make those financial donations stretch,” Wrinkle said.

Donations can be made in person at 3120 E. 19th St., Texarkana, Ark.; online at harvesttexarkana.org; or by mail to P.O. Box 707, Texarkana, TX 75503.