Project HOPE Food Bank will be able to continue its efforts to help alleviate senior food insecurity in Garland County thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Arkansas Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas.
According to a news release, Blue & You awarded a total of $2,733,532 in grants to 42 health improvement programs across Arkansas. The programs range from helping to train nurses to supporting community gardens and food banks, providing funding for dental services to those in need, and helping to fight opioid abuse.
"Our grants this year went to programs throughout the state that address such issues as nutrition and exercise, food insecurity, emergency medical services and medical professional education," Patrick O'Sullivan, executive director of the Blue & You Foundation, said in the release.
Project HOPE Food Bank Community Awareness Coordinator Becky Chote said food insecurity is one of the "most major problems" facing seniors in the community.
"A lot of times with the rising costs of medications and other things, they can't afford food and the lifesaving medications," she said. "So they're giving us a grant to make food boxes."
The $25,000 grant will help serve about 900 seniors, she said. Boxes will be sent out to 12 to 15 area community partners to distribute to seniors in need, according to Executive Director Ted Thompson.
"This money will be used to fund our Senior Emergency Box Program which is about a 40-pound box of nonperishable food that will go out to any seniors in need," he said. "We try to target especially the rural shut-ins and we have about 12 or 15 social agencies that will actually identify and distribute the boxes."
Chote said the organization will find ways to stretch its budget for the program through food drives and finding the best cost nutrition for the lowest prices. This is the sixth year for this program, she added.
"It was funded by the Walmart Foundation for the first five years and they changed their guidelines so we went and asked the Blue & You Foundation to help our seniors," Chote said. "They're focused on hunger -- a lot of other things, too, but we mainly use their grants to provide food. They've been with us about five years. They've funded another program and the food is given to the schools and social agencies.
"We've really been blessed to be able to do this because so many seniors run into so many problems and being able to reach out to them really means a lot to us."
Local on 01/08/2019