BENTON — More than 15,500 people in Saline County are considered food insecure, according to a recent Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report. The report also states that Saline County has a 13.9 percent food insecurity rate. Many organizations and churches help to combat this insecurity through food pantries. First United Methodist Church of Benton, in particular, is gearing up to prepare 50,000 packaged meals for those in need.
On May 14, the second annual Benton vs. Hunger event will take place in the Benton High School cafeteria. Greg Gillis, a member of the church’s Missions Committee, said organizers are expecting around 400 volunteers to assist in the meal preparation. About 300 people came out last year to help, he said.
The Missions Committee started the food drive to meet a big need in Saline County, Gillis said.
“After hearing about how they do these all over the place, we wanted to try it,” he said, noting that the Outreach program provides the food that volunteers assemble for distribution. Outreach is a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe water, food, medical care and education to those in need.
Last year, volunteers in Benton prepared a dry mix of ingredients to make rice and beans, complete with just the right amount of spices.
The church has an active food pantry and serves hot meals every Monday night for those who need them, but this activity with Outreach allows for more food distribution, Gillis said. The event last year prepared about 30,000 meals, and within a month, he said, the food had been distributed to local food pantries.
Volunteer shifts will start at 8 a.m., Gillis said, and will change out every hour. The preparation operates very much like an assembly line.
“We’ll have music playing, and bells will ring when the perfect weight is achieved for a bag of food. It’s a fun, high-energy event,” Gillis said.
Main sponsors of the event are Fulks Family Dentistry and Carson Physical Therapy. Their support, as well as support from other local businesses and organizations, is what pays for the food and supplies, Gillis said.
To become involved with the event, contact Paula Nichols at First United Methodist Church at (501) 315-3652.