Pantries serve community despite national shortage

SILOAM SPRINGS — Despite the national supply shortage, Siloam Springs’ food pantries continue to serve people in need.

While traditional businesses have experienced a lack of goods to sell, food pantries like the Manna Center have managed to get the goods they need to serve their clients, according to Marla Sappington, the executive director of the Manna Center.

“I have had an excess of USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) items and coronavirus food farm to table that has helped the community,” Sappington said. “That has helped us out.”

Sappington said the Manna Center had received hundreds of thousands of pounds of food from the government. As of Nov. 1, 634,000 pounds of food have been taken to the community, Sappington said.

When buying from stores like Aldi, Harps and Walmart, the store limits the Manna Center on the number of items it can buy, Sappington said.

The Manna Center was able to get 100 turkeys and 300 hams from Harps for Thanksgiving because Sappington said she was unsure if the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank would distribute turkeys to the Manna Center.

Then Cargill turned around and donated thousands of pounds of turkeys to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Sappington said. The Manna Center ended up receiving 5,500 pounds of turkeys from the food bank, Sappington said.

A SHIFT IN NEED

Sappington said recently there have been fewer families with children coming in for help but more people between the ages of 20-40 that are either not looking to return to work or wanting a different job than what they had before, Sappington said.

The Manna Center also focuses on ensuring that senior citizens can get fed, Sappington said. Seniors can come in twice a month to get food.

Since many seniors prefer to utilize their own resources, the Manna Center encourages them to come in and get the help they need, Sappington said.

The Manna Center has started taking food to communities like Colcord (Okla.), Cherokee City and Decatur, Sappington said.

They also deliver food to Watts, Okla., and West Siloam Springs, Okla., and have even gone as far as Pryor, Okla., and Tahlequah, Okla., to distribute food, Sappington said. On Thursdays, Gentry Seven Day Adventist Church volunteers come to get food and deliver it to people in need.

In light of national events, the Manna Center has started sharing food with other food pantries, Sappington said.

“Here on this side of Benton County, we are isolated, and we help each other out,” she said.

The only major hindrance the supply shortage has caused was to prevent the Manna Center from purchasing a new walk-in freezer, Sappington said.

It was ordered in August and would have cost $15,000, but Sappington found out in November the order could not be filled and the Manna Center would be charged an additional $5,000.

Sappington said she canceled the freezer order, requested a refund and is now looking elsewhere for a freezer.

“That has been a great big setback because we can’t store all the frozen stuff we get,” Sappington said. “It would have doubled the space of our walk-in.”

STOCKING UP DURING THE PANDEMIC

According to Administrative Coordinator Mike Velo, Genesis House also has seen minor problems with supplies. Genesis House is a day room for the homeless and has a small food bank to help the homeless with food.

“I stocked up quite a bit during the pandemic, so we really didn’t have to get a whole lot of stuff during these last few months,” Velo said.

The food bank at Genesis House primarily offers prepackaged food so their clients can eat them on the go, Velo said. The only thing Velo has had a hard time getting is paper towels.

Clients have not felt the impact of the shortage because Genesis House insulates them from some of the world’s harsher realities, according to Executive Director Tim Rogers.

After more than a year, Velo said it is time for him to stock up again on items like beef ravioli and things like that. Usually, Velo goes to Sam’s Club or Walmart to get the items he needs.

When asked if he gets supplies from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Velo said since the food bank typically offers food that needs to be prepared, he usually looks at other avenues.

“I always check their inventory, and if I see something that we might be able to hand out, I order it,” Velo said.

GETTING CREATIVE

While smaller food pantries have seen fewer difficulties, larger food banks have had difficulties getting what they need, according to Julie Damer, director of marketing and communications for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

“We are having to be creative and source outside of the norm to get food into the warehouse,” Damer said.

Damer said that the food bank is accomplishing this by looking at other vendors to purchase from, purchasing directly from farmers, or just purchasing food from different food banks.

When the pandemic hit, the food bank saw its numbers jump at an alarming rate, Damer said. Before the coronavirus arrived, there were around 67,000 people who suffered from food insecurities in Northwest Arkansas, she said.

Within weeks of the start of the pandemic, the number jumped to over 100,000 within weeks, Damer said. The food bank’s supplies went out faster.

The latest statistics provided by Feeding America show that just more than 82,000 people suffer from food insecurities, Damer said.

“That along with the supply chain issues has put a strain on our inventory and how we can purchase food,” Damer said.

According to feedingamerica.org rural communities are especially hit hard by hunger. Still, Siloam Springs is so far managing to stay ahead of the national supply shortage.

“I feel like the Manna Center, it belongs to God, and we are just doing the work,” Sappington said. “I feel with that attitude we are thoroughly blessed.”