CAVE CITY — The Sharp County Community Foundation has awarded a $1,200 grant to Feed My Sheep Pantry, the food pantry of Cave City United Methodist Church.
Feed My Sheep Pantry has been in operation since January, pantry coordinator Sherra Hutchins said. This past year, it has given 10 to 15 families food baskets each week, along with serving 25 to 35 children after-school snacks each week.
“I keep telling my people that work with me that, ‘Folks, the children are victims. They cannot help this,’” Hutchins said.
Hutchins said the pantry is now focused on serving children in a nearby trailer-park community, and that those who receive food from the pantry do not have to be affiliated with Cave City United Methodist Church. The church, at 56 Arkansas 115, provides a space for Feed My Sheep Pantry and its office, along with paying for the pantry’s utilities and trash pickup.
“I just knew that there was an area in Cave City of low-income families, and I knew that in this area, there were around 25 to 35, maybe 40, children, and we’re kind of focusing on that area because we’re not large enough to help every family in the Cave City School District that’s needy,” she said. “We’re in a unique situation because part of our school district goes into Independence County, which is not an underserved county.”
For after-school snacks, Feed My Sheep offers peanut butter and crackers, various fruits, low-sugar juice and milk, along with providing personal-care items such as shampoo, body bath, toothpaste and deodorant.
The pantry also prepares food baskets for families that include canned vegetables, dried meat, cereal, cake mixes and more. Hutchins said the number of requests the pantry has for food is steadily increasing.
“We have between eight and 10 volunteers that help us get the food ready to put in the bags,” she said. “All of our money is spent on food. Everything else that we do, if we go to meetings, if we need paper or pencils, that is all donated.”
John Beller, who is both a Cave City United Methodist Church board member and an advisory board member for the Community Foundation, said the foundation aims to support nonprofits such as Feed My Sheep Pantry. The Sharp County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation.
“This is a nonprofit doing pretty good work, and I think more generally, we’re starting to pay more attention to what it means to be hungry and just how many of our neighbors are,” said Beller, who abstained from voting on the grant in order to remain neutral. “The pantry started as a mission of the church and has this care and concern for neighbors at heart.”
Beller said Feed My Sheep strives to support the children in the community.
“There is a significant amount of food insecurity, particularly among our kids that are in our school district,” he said. “The ladies who run our food pantry really try to make a special effort for family or households who have kids in them.”
Hutchins said the Community Foundation’s grant was put to use within two weeks of receiving it.
“I spent $600 of it on food already because, for one thing, if we don’t buy the items that we want or need when they’re available, sometimes they’re not available,” she said.
Hutchins said food for the pantry is often purchased with grant money or is given through donations.
The Sharp County Community Foundation has two grant cycles: one in the fall and one in the spring. For this grant cycle, Feed My Sheep Pantry was the only food pantry that applied, Beller said.
“We don’t have a whole lot of money to give out, but we try to give out as much as we can,” Beller said.
Beller said there is a lack of awareness about the help that the Sharp County Community Foundation can provide.
“Chances are an organization you work with is something that the Community Foundation would be really interested in supporting, but we don’t know unless [it’s] through the grant cycle,” he said. “We don’t know of those needs. I’m sure there are several other food pantries and other nonprofits that do things like collect coats and winter clothing for kids, or any kind of work, and just aren’t aware [of what] the Community Foundation has.”
Feed My Sheep will have a Thanksgiving Basket sign-up from 1-3 p.m. Nov. 16. Anyone who signs up will receive a basket, Hutchins said.
Eventually, Hutchins would like to see the implementation of a Cooking Matters course, a nutrition-education class provided by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, to help families learn how to shop for and cook nutritious foods.
“We’re going to try to help as many people as we possibly can with the funds that we have, and we are very good stewards of the monies that have been entrusted to us,” Hutchins said.
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.
Staff Writer Syd Hayman can be reached at 501-244-4342 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.
