Photo courtesy of Kyla Patterson: A-State food pantry chair Kyla Patterson stands in the pantry with bags of goods. Patterson and Volunteer A-State decided to keep the pantry open during the pandemic to help the A-State community. 

As many A-State families live through a challenging time, the A-State Food Pantry kept its doors open and continues to serve the community during the pandemic caused by COVID-19. 

The tornado that tore through Jonesboro March 28 also added another reason for the food pantry to stay open. Volunteer A-State runs the pantry and although she was forced to move home like many other A-State students, food pantry chair Kyla Patterson has still been heavily involved with operations. 

“We decided to keep the pantry open because of the people that are still in need along with the tornado that happened in Jonesboro,” Patterson said. “We wanted to be open and available to anybody that needs the necessities that we provide. We couldn’t stand the thought of not being open and not being able to help those that need it the most.”

During a normal time, the pantry is usually staffed by volunteers who are A-State students. However, with social distancing guidelines being highly advised and with many A-State students away from Jonesboro, staffing the pantry was challenging at first. 

“Now that we have it all figured out, it’s been perfect,” Patterson said. “We couldn’t ask for anything better. At first we didn’t know what we were going to do because we’re soley volunteer ran. With the pandemic happening and A-State pretty much closing, we couldn’t ask our volunteers to come.”

Volunteer A-State’s adviser Katey Provence stepped in to volunteer at the pantry along with her husband and the two are the only people working there weekly. It took the work of Patterson, Provence and Volunteer A-State President Hannah Irvin to decide what should happen during the pandemic. 

“We met and sort of devloped a disaster plan,” Patterson said. “The pantry didn’t have one and we had never seen anything like this before. This was still when the workers were on campus. (Leadership Center employees) were going to step in and volunteer at the pantry as needed. As the pandemic progressed, we decided that Mrs. Katey and her husband (should be there), who also works for the school, and they’ve been quarantining together, so they’re volunteering at the pantry.”

The pantry’s new hours during this time stand as 3-5 p.m. only on Wednesdays. This is a big change from the pantry’s regular hours during the school year.

During a normal school year, the pantry usually stays open Monday and Thursday from 2-6 p.m. 

“It’s also been more difficult because some students, faculty and staff don’t have the social media so they can be aware of our time change and things like that,” Patterson said. “We’ve been trying our best. I know we’ve had signs and people have been telling everybody just by word of mouth and anyway possible. It’s been difficult for people who are used to coming because we had those regulars who came every week at a certain time and now that’s been changed.”

To adhere to social distancing guidelines, the pantry is implementing a grab and go system for picking up goods at the pantry. No one except Provence and her husband are allowed in the pantry. 

Families needing goods can either have goods brought to their car, or families can walk to the front of the pantry and grab pre-prepared bags of goods. 

“It’s easier and faster,” Patterson said. “That way you can come up and get it yourself without having to get that social interaction.”

The same can be said for donations. People donating to the pantry can just leave goods at the front, or simply hand their donations off and leave right away. 

While numbers of families served might be down a little right now, Patterson said she is still hopeful that community members are taking advantage of the pantry as essential goods might be low in other places. 

“I would like to think so,” Patterson said. “I would like to think that they are because we’re running out of so much food right now that I feel like we are producing more. It’s been about an average of five to 10 families per week right now. That’s a little less than normal but then again we’re only limited to two hours of being open.”

The first Wednesday after the tornado struck Jonesboro, 13 families picked up goods from the pantry before the numbers leveled out again. 

Back home in DeWitt, Arkansas, Patterson still handles all the communications for the food pantry and like many Red Wolves, she’s having to balance many different aspects of life during the pandemic. 

“It’s honestly kind of difficult but I enjoy the challenge,” Patterson said. “I came back home and I’m working full time so I’m working 40 hours a week along with being in 16 hours of classwork and balancing Volunteer A-State. So it’s been kind of fun because I can see how tough I can be mentally. My job luckily lets me do things such as Zoom meetings. It’s just been a mental toughness just to stay on track and stay organized, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

Photo courtesy of Kyla Patterson: The Volunteer A-State Council from left to right: Allicen Morris, Maria Sophia Cushman, Hannah Irvin, Allysa Weaver, Mike Olegario and Kyla Patterson. 

During this strange time, Volunteer A-State learned the importance of always having a plan and the organization illustrated it can adapt and evolve as the organization grows. 

As the A-State community continues to surge through the pandemic, Patterson emphasized the new light shined on the food pantry and how in the past the pantry might have been overlooked, but now people are seeing the work that it does. 

“I know that some people have questioned why the pantry is still open when our campus is closed,” Patterson said. “But in retrospect we’re open because we want to help others. That’s our whole main goal is that we want to help people get the food and necessities that they need. I think that during this whole pandemic it has made people realize just how needed a pantry is.”

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