Harvest food bank to host Hunger Action luncheon this month

Tammy Waters and a team of other Domtar Ashdown Plant employees pack boxes of food Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at Harvest Texarkana Regional Food Bank. (Staff file photo by Lori Dunn)
Tammy Waters and a team of other Domtar Ashdown Plant employees pack boxes of food Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at Harvest Texarkana Regional Food Bank. (Staff file photo by Lori Dunn)

TEXARKANA -- Harvest Regional Food Bank will participate in the national Hunger Action Month on Tuesday, Sept. 27, with their annual Hunger Action Luncheon.

Harvest Regional Food Bank and other food banks in the Feeding America network will host events throughout the month to inspire people to take action to help the millions of people who are food insecure in the United States.

"Hunger doesn't have a season, but this is the month that we really try to raise awareness and support of the issue of food insecurity in our region," Executive Director Camille Wrinkle said. "The luncheon is a time for us to share stories of hunger relief and celebrate our volunteers and supporters. And it's a time for us to recognize some of our agencies and spotlight the effort that's gone into hunger relief over the past couple of years."

Wrinkle says over 60,000 people struggle with hunger in the Texarkana area.

"One in five adults in our community struggle with a lack of food, and 50% of those are children or seniors," she said. "These are the people we live and work with every day."

Harvest Regional Food Bank is the official Feeding America food bank serving Bowie County, Texas, and Southwest Arkansas, including Miller, Lafayette, Hempstead, Little River, Sevier, Howard, Pike, Nevada and Columbia counties. The nonprofit's mission is to alleviate hunger through food distribution and education.

In 2021, Harvest distributed over 4.5 million pounds of food to nearly 100 member agencies.

Wrinkle said the biggest thing that can be done to fight hunger in the region is to provide financial support to pantries and food banks to help feed people who need it the most.

"The need is still high," she said. "We've seen another rise in food insecurity because of the rise in fuel cost and grocery cost. We're just asking the community to pull together so we can continue serving our neighbors."

The luncheon will feature guest speakers and testimonials on the impact of hunger, and special friends and volunteers, including Hunger Heroes of the Year, will be recognized.

(The luncheon will take place at noon at Williams Memorial United Methodist Church, 4000 Moores Lane. Tickets are $10. Reservations can be made by calling 870-774-1398 or e-mailing [email protected]. For more information, visit harvestregionalfoodbank.org or facebook.com/harvesttxk.)

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