Fort Smith Salvation Army feeding Crawford County Jail inmates following power outage

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Salvation Army in Fort Smith will be feeding inmates at the Crawford County Jail on April 7 after storms knocked out power.

Thousands in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley lost power from overnight storms. In Crawford County, more than 7,000 were in the dark at 4:30 a.m.

“As far as storm damage we have a lot of debris. A lot of cleanup is going to be happening,” said Veronica Robins, director of Crawford County Emergency Management.

According to Robins, at least five houses have been severely impacted by the storms.

“We have had two that were called into Red Cross that I’m aware of,” said Robins.

The storms knocked out power for the Crawford County Jail. According to Robins, workers turned on the backup generators, however, the generators do not power the kitchen. This is why the Salvation Army is stepping up to help.

“We got a call from emergency management this morning to provide 300 meals to the jail,” said Captain Bradley Hargis with Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army will be providing dinner for the inmates tonight. However, Hargis says they will provide food until power is restored.

“We live for times like this. We can bring in volunteers,” said Hargis.

Hargis says inmates will receive chicken patties, egg salad and apples.

“The Salvation Army’s role in disaster care is mainly mass feeding and spiritual care. So, this is definitely one of those core values which we operate from and feed,” said Hargis.

Robins says with more storms in the forecast, make sure to prepare.

“We want you to make sure all of your stuff is covered. If you have roof damage, get you some tarps to put over your roof to keep the rain from coming in,” said Robins.

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