Tuesday night, December 12, the ice started falling out of the skies. At first, it was a beautiful sight with a light coating of ice over the trees and the cars. Flowers spread their petals to be encased in an icy cocoon, and outside Christmas lights sparkled as they threw their light through their icy coats. Children were out playing and squealing and having a great time until it was time to come into a warm home, have a good supper and then climb into their warm, cozy beds.

However, when morning came, 250,000 Arkansans had no power, and the beautiful lights of the night before were now just indistinct objects coated with a deadly layer of ice. Arkansas had been hit with the worst ice storm in her history. The warm homes had become cold, dark and in some cases, deadly. Nearly two weeks later, some people were still without power to heat their homes or cook their meals.

So what does this have to do with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry? Everything! Thousands of people across our state lost every bit of food they had because of the power outages. Many of those people could not afford to simply run to the grocery store and replace the spoiled food. Many of them had already purchased the makings for their Christmas dinner, and were now in a panic.

By the grace of God, AFHFH was been able to provide over 20,000 meals to those who lost everything. Some of our distributors and feeding agencies told me that people who never had to apply for help before came to them for food for Christmas. Brenda Blankinship, Director of Bradley County Helping Hands, said she wished I could have been there as they handed out the food packages that included fresh meat. She said that some people simply broke down and cried when they get their food. I wish I could have been there to experience such joy firsthand.

One of our processors called me and said that he had five boxes of deer meat (300 pounds) ready to be picked up. I told him to be sure and send me the invoice so we would pay him for the processing. He replied that he must have lost that invoice, but he knew the boxes cost him $ 2.00 each, so if we could send him $10.00 to pay for the boxes he guessed that would be all he needed. Generosity like this is truly a glimpse of God’s great mercy.

So Arkansas got hit hard by the worst ice storm in its history, and a lot of people really suffered. But in the middle of all the adversity, the trials and tribulations, God's light was able to shine just a little brighter. By the God’s grace, the good will of the people of Arkansas, the hunters, and the processors, we were able to help put thousands of meals on peoples’ tables by Christmas tables that year. AFHFH is proud to be able to say that we are part of a national effort to help feed God's people. To be able to participate in this effort when some people have lost everything makes it even that much more humbling.