October 7, 2009
A Little History...
In early 2007, a few people got together and wanted to make a Godly difference in Hughes, Arkansas. Hughes is a poverty stricken town that has many needs. Guided by area churches with a strong sense to share the gospel, an idea arose to start a food bank. The food could attract those in need so we could share God's gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
We started out with no money, no building, no food and no idea how to structure and run a food bank. We visited other banks, observing how they operated and based on that our organization began to fall into place. The first step was filing for the necessary 501[c]3 corporate status and IRS certification, which takes nine months. With the help of Terry Mcfarland, we obtained our 4,000 square foot building which formerly housed a grocery store, complete with shelves and some freezers. We also received a walk in freezer from our local elementary school and several other freezers from individuals. All this was done without incuring a single dollar of debt. It is extremely evident that God had his hand in the whole process as no mortal could have achieved what the HCOM has done without Him.
Determined to have a distribution before Christmas 2007, we begged for food and donations from across the state. Our doors opened December 22, 2007 for our first distribution. It was an early birthday party for JESUS. With the exception of one month, there has been a food distribution every month since December 2007.
Since the beginning, we have had a great relationship with Second Harvest in Jonesboro, AR where we get the bulk of our food. In addition, we have been blessed with both monetary and food donations from generous individuals and businesses to help fill in as needed.
We have received help from more people than we have room to mention here, but we would like to recognize two who have been with us every step of the way--Latwon Whitby and Judge Gary Hughes. Their assistance and guidance have been invaluable.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
We started out with no money, no building, no food and no idea how to structure and run a food bank. We visited other banks, observing how they operated and based on that our organization began to fall into place. The first step was filing for the necessary 501[c]3 corporate status and IRS certification, which takes nine months. With the help of Terry Mcfarland, we obtained our 4,000 square foot building which formerly housed a grocery store, complete with shelves and some freezers. We also received a walk in freezer from our local elementary school and several other freezers from individuals. All this was done without incuring a single dollar of debt. It is extremely evident that God had his hand in the whole process as no mortal could have achieved what the HCOM has done without Him.
Determined to have a distribution before Christmas 2007, we begged for food and donations from across the state. Our doors opened December 22, 2007 for our first distribution. It was an early birthday party for JESUS. With the exception of one month, there has been a food distribution every month since December 2007.
Since the beginning, we have had a great relationship with Second Harvest in Jonesboro, AR where we get the bulk of our food. In addition, we have been blessed with both monetary and food donations from generous individuals and businesses to help fill in as needed.
We have received help from more people than we have room to mention here, but we would like to recognize two who have been with us every step of the way--Latwon Whitby and Judge Gary Hughes. Their assistance and guidance have been invaluable.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL
October 1, 2009
A Lot of Food
Since HCOM started distributing food in December of 2007, there has been over 2,670 distributions of food to over 1000 people. That means that over 10,000 bags of groceries have been given to families in need. This has only happended because of hard work by HCOM volunteers and donations from supporters.
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