1 Million Meals
Arvest Bank
Announces Big Food Drive
By Richard Davis
TFW Staff Writer
Arvest Bank says it’s branching out to help fight hunger with a 1 Million Meals program for April and May.
The meals deal will help places such as 7 Hills Homeless Shelter and the NWA Food Bank keep feeding the hungry. Arvest will be donating to food banks, homeless shelters, etc. across Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. For each new “Like” on its Facebook 1 Million Meals page, Arvest says it will donate $1 towards the cause.
There will also be in-branch fundraisers. Nonperishable food stuffs can be dropped off at branch locations. Arvest customers can make money donations by call 855-553-4056. If you visit one of the branches, you can purchase a paper plate for $1, which is then donated to the meals program. Arvest says hunger programs estimate that $1 enables them to provide 5 meals and each nonperishable food donation equals 2.5 meals.
Here’s a couple of stats from their Facebook page on why Arvest chose hunger as a benevolence program:
“• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly 15 percent of American households, or more than 17 million people, didn’t have enough food to eat at some point in 2009. That’s the highest figure since the USDA began gathering data in the 1990s.”
“• Looking at the U.S.D.A. food insecurity list, the four states Arvest serves, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, rank among the top 11.”
