Kent Eikenberry to step down as CEO of NWA Food Bank

“I’m thankful that God gave me the opportunity to come to the food bank, because I have seen the good side of so many people,” Kent Eikenberry said.

LOWELL, Ark — After nearly a decade leading the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, CEO Kent Eikenberry will step down from his role next spring.

“I’m thankful that God gave me the opportunity to come to the food bank, because I have seen the good side of so many people,” Eikenberry said.

Since joining the organization in 2016, Eikenberry said one of his proudest accomplishments was opening the Claude and Betty Harris Center for Hunger Relief.

“To move into an 84,000- or 83,000-square-foot building with no mortgage was pretty phenomenal,” he said. “But it’s also important to remember that the building is just a tool in what we do every day.”

Under his leadership, the food bank expanded programs, increased distribution capacity, and built regional partnerships to better serve families facing food insecurity. He said one of the biggest challenges has been countering the misconception that the region doesn’t face food insecurity.

“Everybody thinks that Northwest Arkansas has all the money in the world, but you know, there are literally thousands and thousands of people who are food insecure,” Eikenberry said. “Bringing that to the forefront has been something that I’ve worked on over the past 10 years.”

Eikenberry credited the dedication of volunteers and the generosity of the community for the food bank’s success.

“Last year alone, we had over 5,200 people volunteer,” he said. “Those 5,200 people equated to almost 20,000 hours of volunteer time. If we had to pay for those people, that would have been over a half a million dollars in labor. As far as financial support, the community has always stepped up, and they step up whether it’s for us or one of the other hundreds of organizations in Northwest Arkansas that work to try to help people have a little better life.”

Eikenberry will official step down next spring. The search for his replacement is already underway.