Dozens of members of the Hope Lions Club were busy Monday morning at the Fair Park Coliseum assembling boxes of groceries to deliver to local families in need.
Two parallel columns of tables held items that included sweet and regular potatoes, cornmeal, rice, peas and sugar, margarine, eggs, cake mix and icing, green beans, vegetable oil, oranges and frozen chickens. According to Lions director James Griffin, each of the 130 families selected during a tightly-screened application process will receive a box of groceries worth $80, which will be delivered by the Lions today.
The funds for this holiday food distribution were raised earlier this month during the three-day Lions Club Christmas auction, which broke its record last year, raising $39,185.50 selling items donated by local companies and individuals.
Lions President Charles Looney explained the importance of today to the Lions Club. “Our motto is ‘We serve.’ So this is the big deal. This is our biggest program for serving the community, this food basket distribution. This is a big deal for us. This is our number one thing we look forward to every year. So it's a great pleasure to serve the community and Hempstead County in Hope, Arkansas.”
Lions past president and current director James Griffin complimented the vendor from which the Lions purchased the food for today’s deliveries: “These are all from Super One Foods. And Super One Foods are very good about working on what we need, getting them packaged, where we can assemble them and everything.”
Griffin advises those who have applied to receive a food package to have someone at home starting at mid-afternoon today to receive it.
Debbie Marsh, Lions Club Treasurer, was among those sorting groceries at the Coliseum this morning. “I think is this is fun. It's a blessing that all the folks that turned out to the auction made this possible for us to give back to the Hempstead County community,” she said.
John Collier, a Lions past-president and current secretary summed up the meaning of the day. “The real reward is when you take it out there, and you see the faces of the people. You get boxes to them. There are a lot of people in our area that are in real need, and when you find those people and give them that box, they really are appreciative.”
