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Here is where you can find news about Jonesboro, Craighead County, and Arkansas at large, as well as news for Missouri and Tennessee.[ Read our Mission Statement ]

Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas receives large donation from Land O'Lakes

Brandon Tabor, KASU news

Credit Brandon Tabor, KASU news
Boxes of macaroni and cheese going to the cold storage at the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas.

Credit Brandon Tabor, KASU news
Boxes ready for shipment to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other locations.

Credit Brandon Tabor, KASU news
Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas' warehouse.

Credit Brandon Tabor, KASU news
Christie Jordan, CEO of Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas.

Credit Brandon Tabor, KASU news
Paul Vickerson, Plant Manager of the WinField Plant in Blytheville.

Workers from the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas spent part of Wednesday morning unloading a truck which contained macaroni and cheese.  In fact, 40-thousand-pounds worth.  The donation came from the Land O’Lakes company, courtesy of the company’s Winfield plant in Blytheville.  Plant Manager Paul Vickerson.

“They certainly need the help here with this facility.  I think that it was said the Food Bank is meeting about half the need and they need a lot more folks to step up to the plate and help out.”

CEO of the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas Christie Jordan tells KASU news the donation represents a small portion of the number of pounds of food that leave the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas’ warehouse every week.  Weekly, just over 100,000 pounds of food goes to food pantries, soup kitchens, or shelters to help feed five thousand people each week in 12 counties.  She says those numbers of people who are served have been pretty consistent every week.

“While we are very glad that we have not seen an increase in the numbers of people we are serving, there is not a marked decrease either.  This is work that we continue to do as we provide food for those who are not able to provide for themselves.”

She says there is a high need for food during the holiday season.

“Just imagine during the holidays that you are not able to provide a meal for your family.  That is why this donation is important because it will help provide meals and help brighten the holidays for families.”

The donation from Land O’Lakes is part of the company’s First Run Program to help in the fight against hunger.

Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.