An annual initiative through a regional bank group again helps many groups in the region.

An annual initiative through a regional bank group again helps many groups in the region.

Arvest Bank, through a press release last week, announced that their 2021 Million Meals Campaign raised more that 1.68 million meals to help local organizations through donations mad by the bank and its employees as well as bank customers and other members of the communities Arvest serves. 

“It is humbling each year to see how our customers, community members and associates rally around this cause,” Jaren Beavers, vice president and marketing manager of Arvest Bank in north central Arkansas says in the release. “We could not fight hunger on this scale without all these groups and we thank them for their hard work, dedication and generosity. Helping our neighbors in need is part of Arvest’s commitment to our communities.”

The Food Bank of North Central Arkansas is one of the many organizations that benefit from the drive. Other northern Arkansas groups that are helped through the initiative include Loaves and Fishes in Berryville, the Flint Street Fellowship in Eureka Springs, and the Yellville Food Closet. In Southern Missouri, the groups that benefit include Christian Action Ministries in the Branson and Forsyth areas as well as Christian Associates in Branson West, the Southern Stone County Food Pantry in Kimberling City, His House Foundation and The Alliance of Churches Food Pantry in Shell Knob, the Cassville Community Food Pantry, and Monett Community Kitchen and Food Pantry. 

The release states that the bank’s decision to provide one million meals, which began as an annual initiative in 2011, was based on the fact hunger is an issue in every community it serves.