20
Wise Choices for Business
A World of Giving
Abundance and Lack Partner, Hand in Hand
By Rick and Cindy Boosey | World Garden, Bentonville
A while back Molly came asking for
count. That means they miss 27,000
a gift – a request for $1,000. Molly
home-cooked meals a week. We
represents a relief agency that serves
knew if the problem was big, the
women and children, and was look-
solution had to be bigger. So we de-
ing for donations to help make ends
cided to dream big. We decided we
meet. The $1,000 was something
would feed 5,000 people every week,
World Garden did not have to give.
a crazy big number and a crazy big
A few days later, we were hav-
dream.
ing a conversation with our produce
Others caught the vision to end
supplier and learned they throw away
hunger in Northwest Arkansas,
pallets of food every week – including
including War Eagle Mill, CCF
200 lbs. of brown-tip bananas. Our
Brands, and volunteers from the
team decided it was time to make
community at large. Farmer Dave
banana bread.
donated use of 40 acres to a com-
We called Molly to say we still
nity farm. Another farmer donated 8
didn’t have any money to give her,
acres – enough to feed the homeless
but we had 22 loaves of banana
in Siloam Springs. More than 120
bread. She was excited.
volunteers rotate on crews. Before
We got excited and made banana
we knew it, people from all walks of
bread regularly. Before long it was
life were coming together to feed the
more than the agency could handle,
hungry.
and they started sharing their bread
At World Garden we have a vision
with other agencies. Then we started
to end hunger in Northwest Arkansas.
gathering produce to make soup. And
Not by ourselves, but by partnering
before long we had more than 10 vol-
with the relief agencies already doing
unteers making soup and bread for
the hard work – Northwest Arkansas
four area shelters. We drew the inter-
Women’s Shelter, Samaritan House,
est of others with a giving mentality,
Salvation Army, Bethel House and
the Cobblestone Project, and we
others too numerous to list here, but
partnered to feed 1300 people hot
vital to our community.
meals every Sunday. We delivered
What amazes us is that each per-
tons of vegetables directly to relief
son gives just a little, and wondrous
agencies. things happen. Each person is a
There are 1,287 homeless people servant, and not looking for anything
in Northwest Arkansas that we can in return. They help the community
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