Fort Smith Four
Covering Local News and Local Issues
Homeless and Hungry in Fort Smith: UAFS
Patricia Hofferber
November 30, 2015
Many college students have trouble paying the expenses of everyday living and buying enough food to eat, too. This column addresses chronic hunger and food insecurities and how it affects college students on the UAFS Campus. It will discuss hunger and some solutions other campuses in our state have instituted. It will then list resources available to UAFS students in our local area.
Hungry: “Food insecurity” describes a lack of nutritional food, a subject that is not usually associated with college students in the U.S. It is, however, becoming more of a problem especially at schools that enroll a high percentage of youths who are from low-income families or who are first generation college students. Although education is a key to financial security, tuition and living expenses are rising immensely, creating a situation where students have to choose between rent, tuition, and food. Many choose tuition first, rent second, and finally food if there is any money left over. Students who are suffering from food insecurity spend more time worrying about how they are going to eat than they do studying and doing their homework. It creates a vicious cycle because students who suffer from food insecurity fight hunger and fatigue causing many of them give up and drop out thereby decreasing their chances of earning more than a minimum wage.
Dave Stevens, Dean of Students for Campus and Student Life, says he knows that student hunger remains an issue on campus. “For some people, it’s embarrassing to ask for help. There is such a pride here in the South, and it’s difficult for students to ask for help, and some students, I would suggest, don’t know who to ask.” According to the Washington Post, more and more campuses are developing and maintaining university food banks as a way to address the growing problem of hungry students. Stevens said that UAFS investigated university food banks in neighboring cities and discovered that food being donated, and the food that pantries could guarantee the students was inadequate to meet students’ daily nutritional needs. UAFS would have to buy the food necessary to fill in the gaps that the donated food left, and with the price of food being so high, UAFS doesn’t have the budget for that. For that reason and others, UAFS cannot, at this time, provide a university food pantry. It does, however, maintain a book of resources in the Non-traditional Student Office located in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, room 111A. This book has names and addresses of food banks around the area, and UAFS will issue referrals as needed for these programs.
Resources: There are two campus organizations that provide weekly meals. They are the Baptist
Collegiate Ministry (BCM) and Lions for Christ.
BMC provides a hot meal on Wednesdays at noon for 25 cents. They are located across from the Baldor Building on 51st Street. Contact Lee Woodmansee at lwoodmansee@absc.org. Look for their fliers announcing their organization in the Campus Center.
On Thursdays, Lions for Christ provide a free noon meal located in the northeast corner of the West-Ark Church of Christ parking lot. Travis Campbell is the contact name for Lion’s for Christ and can be contacted at 918-716-8660 or travcampbell81@gmail.com.
Off campus resources include Christ on the Streets (COTS) sponsored by St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. COTS is a ministry made up of several area churches whose
members volunteer each week to prepare a free hot meal every Saturday and serve it in the pavilion located at the corner of Clayton Expressway and North H Street. Contact Rev. Steve Poarch at St. Paul United Methodist Church 479-783-5908.
Another church that serves Saturday meals is the Fort Smith Seventh-Day Adventist Church located at 4321 Jenny Lind Rd, Fort Smith. According to their website, they offer a Traveler’s Meal for visitors in their gym following their services. Services begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. For more information, contact Pastor Burnham Rand at 479-646-8567 or email Bdrand3@gmail.com.
Central Christian Church located at 400 North Waldron (across from UAFS) provides meals, groceries,
and food for those who are in need. Their phone number is 479-452-1481.
Mission Point Missionary Baptist located at 3220 North 52 Street, Fort Smith has a food pantry. They offer meals and other food assistance for the needy. Their phone number is 479-785-2450. They recommend calling for agency requirements and hours of operation, although their website states they are open the first and third Friday of each month.
Saint James Baptist Food Pantry located at 4916 High Street, Fort Smith offers canned goods, meals, and referrals. Their phone number is 479-782-5756.
Evangel Temple Assembly of God has a food pantry located at 1110 South 12 Street, Fort Smith. Their website says that they provide hot meals, clothing, and food assistance. Their phone number is 479-782-9121.
Westark Church of Christ located across Waldron from the Gardner building has a food pantry. A photo ID and proof of income must be provided, and they advise to call 479-452-1240 for the food pantry schedule.
The Grand Avenue Baptist Church provides a food pantry. They provide emergency food, occasional emergency food assistance, and ongoing emergency food assistance. The available food includes frozen and canned goods donated or acquired through local agencies. No eligibility is required, but the individual must bring a photo ID and call 479-709-9035 for an appointment.
These are only a few resources out of many in the Fort Smith area available to hungry students and their families. These food pantries are closest to campus and offer low barriers to their services, and although it can be embarrassing to ask, the only way a hungry student is going to be able to break the cycle of poverty and graduate is to get an adequate amount of food. That may require asking an agency for help. There is no shame is needing or asking for help.