Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette readers have provided more than $20,000 for the region's food-insecure families this holiday season.
As of Thursday, $21,113 had been raised through the publication's Community Christmas Card program, said Sandy Robinson, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette advertising operations manager. All tax-deductible donations benefit the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
Rusty Turner, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editor, said the giving program experienced another successful year.
"Our readers are terrific," Turner said. "They are very enthusiastic about helping their friends and neighbors."
Marquetta Relaford, 51, said holiday donations to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank made a significant difference for her family this year amid holiday expenses and rising food costs.
"It definitely has come in handy," Relaford said. "There are seven of us in the family, and I have two grandkids."
Relaford's was one of many food-insecure households served at a Northwest Arkansas Food Bank mobile pantry Tuesday at The Sanctuary Church in Lincoln, said Lindsey Russell, food bank mobile services coordinator. Food pantry clients lined up in cars along Lincoln Avenue to have mobile pantry staff load turkeys, bags of potatoes and apples and shelf-stable items into the trunks of their cars.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.
The 223 food-insecure households who accessed the Lincoln mobile pantry in December is the most this year, as need has increased during the holidays, Russell said. The mobile pantry was serving about 135 households about two months ago.
"People are just having a harder time securing the nutrition that they need," she said.
The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank was founded in 1988 and provides food to about 135 partner agencies that distribute food in the region, said Kent Eikenberry, food bank president and CEO.
The food bank and its partner agencies and programs provided food assistance 764,157 times in 2020, he said. More than 15.9 million pounds of food were distributed in 2020.
Food bank partner Feed the 479 of Springdale is an extension of the Compassion Center of Northwest Arkansas that helps distribute food bank donations, said Brenda Perritt, Feed the 479 assistant director.
Feed the 479 served more than 134,000 individuals by distributing more than 2 million pounds of food over the last year, she said, which was made feasible largely through the support of the food bank.
"Our most significant and oldest partner is the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank," she said. "Without their support and guidance, we would not have been able to serve the number of people that we do."
Eric Vaughan, Compassion Center of Northwest Arkansas executive director, said Feed the 479 serves about 10,000 people monthly, an estimated 20% increase over prepandemic numbers.
Community giving has made a difference this year but will continue to be needed following the holiday season as the covid-19 pandemic continues, he said.
"That need has not gone away," Vaughan said. "Even though we see the economy coming back, you're seeing some of those that lost their jobs in the first wave of the pandemic not getting their jobs back."
Feeding America estimated there were 67,000 food-insecure neighbors in the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank's Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington county service area in 2019, Eikenberry said.
"Last October, they raised that number to 80,000 plus," he said. "Those neighbors need our help year round, so community support in the spring and summer is just as important as community support around the holidays."
It's not too late for Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette readers to support the food bank through this year's Community Christmas Card program, Turner said.
"If, for one reason or another, someone didn't get a chance to donate before Christmas, there's certainly plenty of time to do so after Christmas, and we're happy to facilitate that," he said. "A couple hundred thousand meals is certainly beneficial to the community and will help a lot, but it's not going to solve the problem," he said of the region's food insecurity.
The Community Christmas Card program giving began Nov. 21 and will run through Dec. 31, Robinson said. Donors who gave $3 or more by 5 p.m. Monday had their names published in the printed and digital replica editions of the newspaper today. 
Northwest Arkansas Foodbank volunteers and workers distribute food at the Marvin?s IGA Parking Lot onS. School Ave. Friday Dec. 17, 2021 in Fayetteville. Go to nwaonline.com/211225Daily/ to see more features photos. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey)
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NoneThe Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asks readers for donations to support the work of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank through the Community Christmas Card program.
The food bank will receive 100% of the tax-deductible donations.
Donations may be made online at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/NWADG21 or can be mailed to: Community Christmas Card, c/o Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, ATTN: Sandy Robinson, P.O. Box 1607, Fayetteville, AR 72702. Checks should be made out to: NWA Food Bank-Community Christmas Card.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette