View Larger Image About 150 members of Team UAMS volunteered to build Thanksgiving bags for Stocked & Reddie, the UAMS food pantry.
About 150 members of Team UAMS volunteered to build Thanksgiving bags for Stocked & Reddie, the UAMS food pantry. Image by Lara Woloszyn

Team UAMS Builds Thanksgiving Bags for Stocked & Reddie

By Yavonda Chase

| It’s beginning to feel a lot like Thanksgiving at UAMS.

KARK's Hilary Hunt (left) served as the emcee for the event.

KARK’s Hilary Hunt (left) served as the emcee for the event.Lara Woloszyn

Members of Team UAMS gathered Nov. 12 in the Hospital Lobby Gallery to put together Thanksgiving baskets for Stocked & Reddie, the on-campus food pantry.

More than 750 employees and students are members of Stocked & Reddie. When you add their families, the food pantry is providing food to more than 2,000 people a month, said Tonya Johnson, director of Nutrition Services.

“We wanted to do something special for Thanksgiving,” Johnson said.

And so the idea of Thanksgiving bags was born.

The bags contain everything needed for a great Thanksgiving meal — green beans, cream of mushroom soup, French fried onions, cranberry sauce, corn, fresh sweet potatoes, mini marshmallows, rolls, pumpkin, pie crust, evaporated milk, even pumpkin pie spice — as well as recipes. While the turkey didn’t fit in the bag, more than 9,000 pounds of the festive bird were in a Nutrition Services freezer just waiting to be picked up by Stocked & Reddie members.

Volunteers filled and decorated 500 bags for Stocked & Reddie members.

Volunteers filled and decorated 500 bags for Stocked & Reddie members.Lara Woloszyn

Approximately 150 employees volunteered for one of the two bag-building sessions. Volunteers were divided into teams, which were then tasked with filling and decorating 25 bags each.

KARK’s Hilary Hunt served as the emcee for the event and picked out the best bag. Those on the winning team were given a free Team UAMS T-shirt coupon.

“My favorite part was decorating the bags with ribbons and fall decorations. I could have done that for the rest of the day,” said Nikiya Simpson, a program manager in the College of Public Health.

“It was an incredible experience that offered me the chance to volunteer with my co-workers and serve the UAMS community. I had a great time meeting new people,” she said.

Stocked & Reddie started distributing the Thanksgiving bags this week and is even offering extended hours to ensure that night-shift employees are able to pick up their goodies, said Johnson.

“The response has been great. People are so thankful that we did this event,” she said. “Many students who are unable to go home for Thanksgiving are especially thankful they now have the items to prepare a holiday meal.”