The Tiger Table EAST Project grew out of a simple, harsh reality: too many people in West Fork were facing food insecurity. Ronnie Glahn took that on as a personal mission, working with Mr. Maska and Assistant Superintendent Andrea Ward to carve out a dedicated space in the West Fork Elementary Student Services building. While Ronnie’s initial grants from Aldi’s and Casey’s got the ball rolling in 2025, the real challenge was making the pantry sustainable. We didn't want this to be a project that collapsed the moment a specific student graduated, so we partnered with Bright Futures and the NWA Food Bank to build a system the district could eventually operate independently.
Through planning and making connections and physical effort, we deployed the Tiger Table pantry in late October 2025. Now, school counselors, district FACE personnel, members of the Bright Futures program district PTO as well as the district school board have access to help run the operations of the pantry, and they regularly do.
Even though the EAST project is officially is deployed, our students haven't abandoned the endeavor. They still show up to help manage the pantry, take inventory, receive donation shipments, stock the room and help with distributions because they’ve become genuinely invested in the families they serve. Hundreds of student services hours have been generated this school year in pantry-related activities. That student-led energy is what allowed us to pivot from pre-packed boxes to a "choice" shopping model in with NWA Food Bank January 2026. After a walkthrough with Lauren McGrath from the NWA Food Bank, we realized we could better serve the community by letting them pick the specific items they need.
The impact of that shift is clear in the numbers. We’ve seen steady growth every month this year:
January: 69 households (254 people)
February: 80 households (286 people)
March: 112 households (428 people)
April: Currently tracking toward a similar amount of people.
To match this demand, our NWA Food Bank budget was increased twice and now sits at $1,200 a month. Ronnie also just secured another $1,000 through a second round of Aldi’s and Casey’s grants specifically for hygiene products. The Tiger Table is now a permanent fixture in the district.