Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas receives Grant from Baptist Health Care

JONESBORO – Last week, the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas was awarded a $10,000 grant by Baptist Memorial Health Care to provide fresh produce in Craighead County.

The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas is committed to making nutritious food available to those in need. Since 2015, the Food Bank has operated the Fresh Produce Program to make sure fresh fruits and vegetables are available to food insecure populations.

The Food Bank distributes produce through our partner agencies as well as through mobile pantries.

“We appreciate Baptist Memorial Health Care and their commitment to building healthier communities,” Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas CEO Christie Jordan said.

“These funds will provide hundreds of families with nutritious, fresh produce.”

An estimated six percent of Arkansas do not have a vehicle. This means they must frequently choose between a trip to the grocery store or getting to work, a doctor’s appointment, or getting their child to school. Many of those living in food insecurity, will often forgo a trip to the grocery store and opt instead for purchasing cheap, unhealthy food from a local gas station or dollar store which can lead to the development of chronic diet-related illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more.

The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas provides hunger relief to people in need by raising awareness, securing resources, and distributing food through a network of non-profit agencies and programs. The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas provides the equivalent of 132,000 meals each week to people facing hunger. The Food Bank works in partnership with 180 non-profit partner agencies and programs in 12 counties in Northeast Arkansas. These counties include: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis, and Woodruff. Additionally, the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas is a member of Feeding America, a national network of food banks.

Through our many partnerships, every $1 donated can help provide 3.5 meals. For additional information, please visit our website www.foodbankofnea. org. You can also find the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas on Facebook @FoodBankofNEA, Twitter @foodbankofnea, and Instagram @foodbankofnea.

About Baptist Memorial Health Care

Baptist Memorial Health Care is one of the country’s largest not-for-profit health care systems and the largest provider of Medicaid in the region.

Baptist offers a full continuum of care to communities throughout the Mid-South and consistently ranks among the

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top integrated health care networks in the country. The health care system comprises 22 affiliate hospitals in West Tennessee, Mississippi and East Arkansas; more than 5,400 affiliated physicians; Baptist Medical Group, a multispecialty physician group with more than 800 providers; home, hospice and psychiatric care; minor medical centers and clinics; a network of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by Baptist Health Sciences University (formerly Baptist College of Health Sciences). Baptist employs more than 19,000 people, and in fiscal year 2020 contributed more than $352 million in community benefit and uncompensated care to the communities it serves. For more information, visit baptistonline. org/besthealth. ***

$1 million bond set in rape, kidnapping case

JONESBORO — District Judge Tommy Fowler found probable cause Friday to charge a Jonesboro man with one count of rape and one count of kidnapping, both Class Y felonies.

Ja’markis Northern, 26, of Jonesboro, is accused of raping a woman on June 18 in downtown Jonesboro, after she was walking to her car in a public parking lot along Church Street, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Jonesboro police officers went to NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital that night about a sexual assault and spoke with the victim. She said a man put a gun to her head and forced her into the back seat of her vehicle, where he raped her.

The victim told police the suspect forced her into the driver’s seat and made her drive around, the affidavit states.

She said she drove the suspect around for an undisclosed amount of time before he told her to stop in a parking lot and drop him off.

A sexual assault kit was taken at the hospital and sent to the State Crime Lab. A Combined DNA Index System hit was sent from the Crime Lab from the rape kit. The Crime Lab was able to collect a DNA sample that was compared to known DNA, the affidavit states.

“The DNA profile obtained from the evidence hit against a convicted offender/arrestee from Arkansas, Ja’markis Northern,” the affidavit states. Fowler appointed a public defender to represent Northern and set his bond, on recommendation from the 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, at $1 million cash only.

A Class Y felony is punishable by 10-40 years or life in prison.

Northern’s next court date is Sept. 28 in Craighead County Circuit Court.

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