CABOT, Ark. — At the Cabot Business Complex lies Feed the Veterans, a nonprofit that makes sure veterans don’t go without food.
“We are a veteran's food pantry. And we're open to all vets in the state of Arkansas,” said CEO Deyonka Hickey. “You don't have to live in a certain area. You don't have to be in a certain school district. We don't ask income.”
The non-profit operates like a grocery store for veterans who are in need.
“The veteran comes in, grabs a grocery cart, and gets what he or she wants to help them through to the end of the month,” she said.
Hickey explained that she founded the nonprofit after seeing that there was a need.
“I work at the VA hospital and so I see a lot of veterans that need a little extra help,” she added.
Over the last six years, they've grown to serve more people each year.
“The very first open we had, we had eight veterans come through and we had 187 pounds of food go out,” said Hickey. “Just this June we had 100 veterans come through and we provided food for 267 family members.”
She said that in the past year, they've seen a 32% increase in veterans who are in need of help. Now, they have been actively searching for a new building after they learned just last week that they won't be able to stay in the current one.
“We were notified that the bank is defaulting on our landlord,” said Hickey. “We were paying our rent, which was $1,000 a month religiously, and then all of a sudden we get told they're going to foreclose on our building.”
They haven't been told when they need to be out which Hickey expressed has been very stressful.
“That really put us in a cramp, and it put us in a panic because we don't know how long we have,” she said. “We don't know how much it's going to cost us to be able to move.”
In the meantime, they plan to continue helping veterans who need it.
“We're not going to close. We're going to continue this service,” she added.
Hickey said they're already working with the Cabot Mayor and other council members to find a new building. They're also taking donations.
If you would like to learn more about the organization or donate, please click here.