Harvest Food Bank to Host Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry July 15

Harvest Regional Food Bank is doing it again. They will distribute 1,000 emergency food boxes to Texarkana-area residents.

This is their third Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry Event and this one will take place on Wednesday, July 15 beginning at 8AM at Four States Fair Arena, 3700 E 50th St, Texarkana, AR. The event will last until 12PM or until all boxes have been distributed.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, Harvest has seen a 63% increase in food distribution. As schools closed, jobs were lost and families faced food insecurity, many for the first time, Harvest got to work addressing the need for hunger relief.

“Prior to the COVID crisis, we used mobile pantries to serve the needs of our rural counties,” says Camille Coker Wrinkle, CEO/Executive Director. “But as we saw an increase in food insecurity right here in Texarkana, we realized the best way to address hunger was to use our mobile pantry program, but on a much larger scale.”

Family food boxes distributed in Harvest’s mobile pantry program include a box of fresh vegetables, a box of shelf-stable pantry items and a box of frozen meats. “We want families to be able to prepare nutritious meals with the food they receive, and this ‘bundle’ includes up to a month’s worth of much needed healthy food,” says Wrinkle. “In a little over a month, we’ve been able to provide food to 3,000 families in the Texarkana area.”

To ensure safe social distancing, recipients are to remain in their vehicle and follow direction of staff and volunteers upon entrance to the grounds. Enter from the 50th St Entrance at Hwy 245/Four States Fair Pkwy in front of Bobby Ferguson Park (by the gazebo). Distribution is limited to one box per household and two households per vehicle