RISON - Samantha Garrard, the new executive director for the Central Delta Community Action Agency, said she intends to pursue more grants in hopes of expanding the agency’s food bank and other services provided through the Cleveland County office at Rison.Central Delta is a private, non-profit agency serving a five-county area that includes Cleveland, Arkansas, Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties. The Cleveland County office is at 200 Main Street in downtown Rison. People can learn more about the services through their website at cdcaa.org.Garrard became Central Delta’s new executive director on June 2. She said she has recently moved to Rison with the new job. In an effort to get a better idea about what services to provide locally, Garrard said Central Delta hold a public forum meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 30, at their office at 200 Main Street in Rison.In addition, she encourages everyone, including those who do not use Central Delta for services, to complete a community assessment survey. She said their goal is to get 300 surveys from throughout their five-county service area. By doing so, she said it will put them in a better position to receive grant money. The surveys can be found online through their website at cdcaa.0rg or by stopping by their office. She said they can also take the survey over the phone by calling (870) 536-0046.Garrard said their mission as an agency is to help people become self-sufficient through emergency rental and utility assistance, help on energy bills, job assistance programs and more.Much of Central Delta’s work is carried out through a federal Community Services Block Grant, Garrard said. While that is a main source of funding, Garrard said she intends to pursue other grants that will allow them to expand their services or perhaps offer some new ones.For instance, Garrard said they are currently only able to open the food pantry based on the money t...
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