CONWAY — Melissa Allen of Conway came up with a cute way to try to counteract the serious problem of hunger.
Allen, programs director for the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas, created a contest called Deck the Box. Businesses and organizations are invited to decorate a large box and collect food items for the nonprofit organization’s depleted food pantries.
“Our donations are down, but the demand is also up. The food is just turning around and going right back out the door,” Allen said.
The contest deadline has been extended until Wednesday.
The Community Action Program for Central Arkansas covers Faulkner, Cleburne and White counties. The food collected will stay in the county in which it is donated, Allen said.
Photos of the decorated boxes are posted to the organization’s Facebook page, and whichever box receives the most “likes” in each county determines the winner. An overall grand champion will be decided among the three counties’ entries, based on the most votes. The winner will be decided Dec. 28.
Also, the food collected from each county will be weighed, and the county with the most donated food will be given a plaque.
The White County food pantry in Searcy is temporarily closed because it ran out of food, which Allen said had never previously happened in the four or five years the pantry has been open.
In Cleburne County, food commodities are usually given out once a quarter, “but throughout the month, we give out 25 food boxes; it’s the same way with White County,” she said.
“I don’t know how many pounds, but we serve over 500 people a month here in Faulkner County. That’s quite a bit of food. … It averages 500 to 700 a month,” she said.
Allen said her idea was, “If we could make [donating] fun … and get more people involved, we would be able to get more food.”
Photos of the boxes should be emailed to Allen at melissa.allen@capcainc.org.
“We see an increase in needs around the holidays,” Allen said. “When kids are out of school, there is higher food insecurity. We want to make sure we get enough food to last us through the holidays.”
Although Allen isn’t eligible to win a prize, she decorated a box.
“I couldn’t miss out on the fun. I didn’t register mine to win, but I created one called The Giving Tree in my office,” she said.
Myracle White, food-pantry coordinator for Conway, joked with Allen that her tree design is “not a box.”
Allen pointed out that the box is behind the tree — canned food is dropped down “the chute” of the tree trunk and falls into a box.
The organization’s volunteers have made boxes, including the snowman that sits near the pantry in Conway.
“It’s really cute,” Allen said.
White said volunteers have made boxes for a few people who want to participate “but don’t feel like they’re real artsy.”
For more information about Deck the Box, call Allen at (501) 269-9351.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.