SnackPack Effort Provides Shelter From The Storm

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

WHAT’S THE POINT?

The regional effort to provide packages of food on the weekends to young people who might otherwise go hungry reached a major milestone and everyone involved deserves kudos.

It is a little discomforting to celebrate work almost anybody would rather see as unnecessary to begin with.

But, we’re told repeatedly in the Bible, there will always be poor people and people in need. Our human endeavors are rendered more meaningful when our compassion meets up with hands of action. A prime example in Northwest Arkansas recently marked a major milestone.

The Samaritan Community Center marked the distribution of its millionth SnackPack, bags fi lledwith eight to 10 snacks and given to schoolchildren identified as “at risk” for hunger on the weekends, when school is not in session. The program launched in 2004 serves 300 children in Rogers and Bentonville.

The organization now serves 6,500 students in 95 elementary schools and Head Start facilities across the region. More than 200,000 SnackPacks were given out during the 2012-13 school year.

School programs do everything they can Monday through Friday to help these young “food insecure” people to get nutritional benefits, but some kids might not see a decent meal between lunch on Friday and breakfast on Monday. The SnackPack program is a volunteer-driven effort to bridge that gap.

It takes an enormous effort, both physically and financially. The program seeks donations of food, but must also raise money for more than 50,000 snack items per month, at a cost of about $30,000. Marking the 1 millionth SnackPack is both a recognition of the challenges those in need face in the midst of abundance here in Northwest Arkansas and the incredible generosity that flows toward them.

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm, and a shade from the heat.” - Isaiah 25:4

Beyond keeping bellies filled on the weekends, the program delivers hope. We commend every volunteer and donor who has made the first million possible. Although our grandest wish is that such a program would not be necessary, we celebrate its existence for those in need.

RECOGNIZING BLESSINGS IN TRAGEDY

In the hours after Jake Harrell’s plane went missing in south Arkansas, it was easy to let one’s mind drift toward the possibility that his wildfire detection mission for the Arkansas Forestry Commission had ended in tragedy. A body’s mind is like that, prepping for the news nobody wants even while the heart holds out every last hope.

“Jake, We’re Coming,” the sign at the search command center read.

“I know God is with Jake, or Jake is with God,” his mother, Pam Harrell, said during the 12-day search that eventually discovered his downed plane and the end of a public servant’s life.

What happened is anyone’s guess as investigators continue their work, but we know this: Harrell demonstrated the dangers that face the many Arkansans who seek to protect and serve in many capacities. We are fortunate to have men and women who set out daily to make the Natural State a better and safer place.

We pay our respects to those, like Harrell, who devote themselves to helping others.

Go with God.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/18/2014