Featuring people who make the world go round with food and love.

Shana Laser, volunteer Food Pantry director, NorthPoint Fellowship Church, Fort Smith

Shana Laser and the team at her church have a special way of looking at “You spot it, you got it.”

The “Snak-Paks” are ready for the neighborhood children on a Friday afternoon. Shana poses with her volunteer assistant, Denise Tobin.

“You see it — a need — you take care of it,” she explains. That’s what she did when forming the food pantry that gives hot, nutritious, protein-rich food to neighborhood students from grade school to high school, and to families that just need that extra bit of help to get by.

What is your hunger relief program? “We provide a box of food twice a month that contains two very thorough meals for a family, and then a snak-pak on Fridays to 80 to 100 students of Spradling and Sutton elementary schools, Kimmons Junior High and Northside High School. The snak-pak contains two hearty, protein-rich meals with snacks and treats. We also serve a hot meal on Friday evenings.”

How long have you been a Food Bank partner? “We began our program in 2017. We first just wanted to fill a gap for kids between the end of school and the start of free summer meals. Then we realized that even during the school year, these children were not going to be eating much on the weekends. Our passion is that a child has to have a protein-rich diet, or they can’t learn. Protein is essential for brain development.”

Do you see success? “The evidence of the good we are doing is overwhelming and compelling. We see it weekly in the students’ faces and attitudes, and we hear it from the parents who receive the food boxes – they thank us profusely for this small hand-up.

Shana shares a laugh with Food Bank Warehouse Specialists Bobby Morgan, left, and Sylvester Hampton, on her food pick-up day.

“Our theme is that we won’t support anyone, but we fill the gap. They are hard-working people, but their income is low — but not low enough to qualify for federal aid. The hungry come. That’s who uses our program.”

What role does the Food Bank play? “It’s major. All of the food we distribute comes from the Food Bank, from the juice we feed our kids to the frozen meat we give our families.”