BELLA VISTA — At Bella Vista Lutheran Church, food pantry volunteers don’t worry too much about how to get things done.
“It’s not our pantry; it’s the Lord’s food pantry. We can’t do it, but He can. We trust Him,” said Kay Gaudian, director. When she took her car to Harps to pick up 75 turkeys being stored in the grocery store’s freezer, the Lord must have known it wasn’t too much for her car. She fit them all in and got them back to the church to distribute on Nov. 6.
Nov. 6 was the first day the Shepherd’s Food Pantry distributed Thanksgiving meals. People can only visit the location once each month, but everyone will get a Thanksgiving meal, as well as their usual box of groceries, she said. So the meals were ready each of the three Fridays the food bank was open during November.
Because gathering enough Thanksgiving meals for 250 families means starting early, the families received a box of instant potatoes and a can of sweet potatoes instead of fresh vegetables. When the food bank receives fresh vegetables, they go into the regular food box, she said.
The food bank bought a turkey for each family and a chicken for each single person. Last year they helped 196 families for Thanksgiving.
“We appreciate any help we can get,” she said, “We couldn’t do it without their help.”
Help comes from both individuals and groups. Groups including Scouts and clubs that sometimes hold food drives. Many other churches help on a regular basis and some businesses help too, she said.
There’s a shopping cart in the church lobby for donations, or groups can call ahead and set up a photo op with their donation, she said. Any kind of food that can be used in the Thanksgiving bags is helpful and so are financial donations, she said.
Most of the people who come to Shepherd’s Pantry for help are from Bella Vista, she said.
“They have genuine needs. We hear the stories,” she said. Someone interviews each new client and offers to pray with them, she said. They want to feed the soul, as well as the body.
The rule is they can come once a month, but Gaudian knows that may not be enough. She doesn’t mind if they go to other pantries as well. Some families may even collect two Thanksgiving dinners and that’s all right.
“We leave that up to the Lord. We are here to help people and we’re not judgmental. If they want to put it in their freezer that’s all right.”
Last year, Shepherd’s Food Pantry helped 4,642 people, she said.
Bella Vista’s other food pantry, Oasis Food Pantry, just reopened in its new location. Oasis moved along with Village Bible Church to Forest Hills Blvd. about 3.5 miles from its former building at Town Center and about a mile north of Shepherd’s Food Pantry.
Oasis Food Bank operates a little differently, said Denise Conyers, director. They are open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and people can come in as often as they wish.
Since they have freezer and refrigerator space, Oasis can provide meat each week. They usually buy meat at the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank at a discounted price. But for the last few years, the Food Bank hasn’t had turkeys for the smaller pantries to buy, she said.
“We try to provide everything else,” she said. People can pick up the fixings for green bean casserole, muffins, stuffing, and pies. Her hope is they can find enough money in their budget to purchase their own turkey.
The pantry can use any kind of canned goods, boxed macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and diapers, she said.
In the past, donors have surprised her, as well as the her clients, with holiday donations, she said. One year, an anonymous donor provided pumpkin pies to all the food pantry clients. Another time, it was breakfast foods including eggs.
If someone one helps with turkeys, she will be happy to distribute them on Nov. 18. The pantry won’t be open on the 25th, the day before Thanksgiving.
Her volunteer staff will also offer to pray with clients, and at the new center, they may be able to offer more practical help. There will be a computer with Internet available for job searches and resumes, she said. Volunteers will be able to help clients with computer searches.
There’s also a new computer system for the volunteers. They will be able to check clients in and out quickly on the new computer.
Like Shepherd’s Pantry, Oasis staff doesn’t worry too much about people abusing the system.
“If someone is abusing the system, that’s going to work on their heart. After a while, they just stop coming,” she said.
Conyers estimates about 75 percent of her clients are from Bella Vista. The others are mostly from Bentonville and Gravette. A few people come down from McDonald County, Mo., she added.
Food pantries
Shepherd’s Food Pantry
Bella Vista Lutheran Church 1990 Forest Hills Blvd. Bella Vista, AR 72715 Open each Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed on Nov. 27.
Oasis Food Pantry
Village Bible Church 1591 Forest Hills Blvd. Bella Vista, AR 72715 Open each Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Closed on Nov. 25.