LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When you think of Thanksgiving, food is one of the first things that comes to mind, but for many families, a holiday meal isn't always a given.
On Saturday, a local church and a former Hogs basketball star came together to try and change that.
Once a week, the Southside Church of Christ on Geyer Springs Road opens its doors to provide food to those in Little Rock who need it.
Thanks to a partnership with the Arkansas Food Bank, the church is able to offer this service every Saturday.
And according to church member Darlene McClendon, this is a big need throughout the community.
“We have people that come that’s walking up here to get food,” McClendon said. “Last couple of months, we have had way more than we normally have.”
While the church runs this pantry every Saturday, this Thanksgiving event was particularly special.
Not only was it a holiday effort, but it also had the support of Little Rock Native and former Arkansas basketball star Bobby Portis.
Portis couldn’t be there himself because he was in Milwaukee, playing for the NBA’s Bucks. But his charity, the Bobby Portis Foundation, sent volunteers to help with the distribution effort.
“Once he reached his success in the NBA, he wanted to give back to his community,” the Foundation’s Program Director, Kierra Richardson, said.
With Portis having grown up in a single-parent home, the foundation has an emphasis on helping single parents in Arkansas and Portis’ new home state of Wisconsin.
It strives to provide financial and mental support for those who need it most, and not having to worry about a Thanksgiving meal can help in both of those areas.
“It’s a lot of gratitude around today,” Richardson said. “It's a lot of gratitude around the holiday season.”
McClendon said the church will continue to hold their weekly events, and the Bobby Portis Foundation plans to partner with them again around Christmas.
“This church family, we stand together,” McClendon said, “And so we come out and we go head-on and do what we got to do to help the people in our community and all around.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the church’s volunteer efforts, they can be reached at 501-313-5859, or by email at southsidecofclr@gmail.com.
More information on the Bobby Portis Foundation can be found here, and Richardson said they can also be reached by email at info@bobbyportisfoundation.com.