TURNER SEIBERT
The THV 11 Summer Cereal Drive is one of the sunniest season traditions, and in no small part it is because of TACO CAT. Yes. TACO CAT, which spelled backwards is TACO CAT. This youth team was established by Zoe Seibert. Now – three years later under the leadership of her brother, Turner Seibert, TACO CAT has collected more than 11,000 boxes of cereal for the Arkansas Foodbank with a goal to exceed the previous year. Turner began volunteering with his mom and sister in 2020; Arkansas Foodbank Chief Programs Officer Sherri Jones notes they are some of the first to arrive each year.
The Arkansas Foodbank is a leader in the fight against hunger – connecting people with essential resources while providing dignity and hope. The legacy of the organization is steadfast with a finite focus on our state’s most vulnerable residents. “One in five Arkansas children face food insecurity and in some rural counties that rate is even higher,” Sherri explains. “Children need nutritious food to grow and thrive, and they need it every day. Unfortunately more than 64,400 children in Central and South Arkansas are food-insecure. With programs that seek to reach children – whether it’s during the weekend or the summer – we can ensure children receive the food they need to grow and thrive as individuals.” The THV Summer Cereal Drive is a critical component of this strategy; the Seibert family are hunger heroes and ardent ambassadors. Turner elaborates, “I hope I am helping to feed hungry kids in my own community and throughout Arkansas.”
As the Arkansas Foodbank celebrates more than four decades of service, the accessibility to nutritious food remains a top priority. There are three strategies that specifically address the needs of children experiencing hunger: backpacks, school pantries and summer feeding sites – all of which include cereal made available through the summer cereal drives. The 420 local partnerships with churches, soup kitchens, shelters and children’s feeding programs provide a distribution network from the organization’s headquarters to communities across 33 counties in Central and Southern Arkansas. The organization works 365 days to feed our neighbors in need. Devoted volunteers like Turner make this continued mission fulfillment work possible. Sherri adds, “We are so grateful for Turner’s contributions and TACO CAT.”