Neighborhood comes together to fight local poverty
Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2008
BENTON COUNTY July 13 began simply enough for Rogers residents Gabe and Michelle Rodriguez. As they prepared to start their day, Gabe and Michelle settled in to read the Sunday paper, where they found a story about area food pantries struggling to make ends meet with the economy forcing everyone to tighten their belts.
Reading the article, Gabe and Michelle decided it was time for them to do something to help the problem. The couple simply could not sit back and do nothing, knowing other people were having a hard time feeding their children each day.
Too often when something reaches at our hearts on TV or in the news, we will turn it off. This time we decided to take a stand and figure out how we were going to connect the resources we have, Gabe said. We did not just want to write a check and forget about it.
With that, the Rodriguezes began to craft the Good Neighbor Food Drive.
The premise of the food drive was simple enough. They would spend a Saturday morning picking up food left curb-side by their neighbors in the Montreaux, Berry Farm and Bent Tree subdivisions in Rogers.
Teaming up with their friends Brittney and Topher Moore, Corrie and Mike Rusch and Jacob and Emily Kaler, the Rodriguezes distributed flyers throughout the subdivisions letting people know what donations were needed and when they would be picked up.
Then on Aug. 23, the eight friends who refer to themselves as The Cobblestone Project, along with their young children, saw something amazing happen. As the group walked the streets of the three participating subdivisions at 10 a. m. that Saturday morning, they found grocery bags filled with donations for the food pantries lining the street.
We had no expectations. If we had two homes participate and that was enough to feed two families for a week, that would have been enough for me, Mike Rusch said.
(The food drive ) does not just make a difference for the people we are serving, but it changes the perspective on life for the people who are serving, Brittney Moore said.
The Moores 18-month-old and 3- year-old daughters helped pick up the donated food from the safety of their red Radio Flyer wagon along with the Rodriguezes 3-year-old son, Benjamin.
For us to see them grow up in a service-oriented environment and for our two girls to talk about the food walk, that means the world to me as a dad to have them ask when we are doing the food walk again instead of saying lets watch TV, Topher Moore said.
Not only did the group see their neighbors leave food on the curb for the food drive, but people dropped off food continuously throughout the weekend.
The event was only two hours. We spent the rest of the night coming and going just like a normal weekend, but when we would come back there was always food at our door, Gabe Rodriquez said.
By the end of the weekend, the Cobblestone Project collected more than 1, 600 pounds of food for the Samaritan Community Center in Rogers, one of the largest donations ever taken in by the center from a group of individuals.
More importantly, the food collected by the group was enough to feed 260 families in need for an entire week.
(The donation ) was wonderful. It came at a very important time. Our food levels were down pretty low because of the dramatic increase of people we are seeing each week and we actually had to make a large food purchase the week before, Debbie Rambo, director of the Samaritan Community Center said. In fact, on the Thursday before the donation was brought in we saw a big increase in the number of people coming in.
This was by far one of the most significant drives we have ever seen, Rambo said, Most people do not realize how much just a little bit of food how far it goes. Just picking up a few extra things at the grocery store can really make a big difference in the lives of a family, especially when you get a group like (the Cobblestone Project ) who is really committed.
With the success of their initial drive under their belt, the group of friends now has their eyes set on another goal. They want to be able to have enough food drives in different areas of Benton County to be able to feed families in need for an entire calendar year.
The goal of feeding the hungry for an entire year is not as cumbersome as it may initially seem, according to Gabe Rodriquez, a self-professed numbers man who has done the math.
If we can get 26 subdivisions to step up and do this just two times a year, that is 1, 600 to 2, 000 pounds of food hitting the food bank each week, Rodriguez said, noting that the group hopes to be able to feed struggling families in both Benton County and Washington counties for a full calendar year.
So many people forget that there is a problem with poverty in Benton County because we have Pottery Barn and P. F. Changs, but there is a problem, Corrie Rusch said.
It (the Good Neighbor Food Drive ) all started out with a need being pointed out and two people responding. This (hunger ) was something that is here in our own back yard, and (the drive ) was about being able to do something in a small way to help those around you, Mike Rusch said.
We can not save the world, but we can start here, Gabe Rodriguez said.
The Cobblestone Projects next Good Neighbor Food Drive is scheduled for Sunday at the Lochmoor Club subdivision in Bentonville.
For information on the Cobblestone Project, visit www. cobblestoneproject. org.
Any subdivisions POA wishing to hold a food drive with the group should contact food @ cobblestoneproject. org.
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