Arkansas Food Bank<\/a> (AFB) sustains a community-driven approach, supporting 300 partner-led pantries in 33 counties. Sherri Jones, the food bank’s chief program officer, views this as one of its most successful initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cIt’s a very collaborative effort to make sure that everyone is taken care of. Those churches and soup kitchens know who in their community needs the services, so there are boots on the ground. And if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to distribute any food,\u201d says Jones, adding that the food bank provides fresh food and sends it to the pantries for distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many food access organizations across the state, the Little Rock-based food bank is no stranger to the food access barriers identified by the working group. The help of volunteers allows the AFB to implement additional initiatives like the Pop-Up Pantry or the Senior Delivery Service. For example, AFB is trying to open more pantries within Lee County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile delivery trucks \u201cact as a band-aid until we can get that really good program up and running as we prioritize making sure that the community is served,\u201d says Jones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones notes that the Working Group\u2019s recommendations extend to improving access to state food benefit programs, such as SNAP and WIC. \u201cThe application process can be cumbersome,\u201d she states, adding that technical advancements are suggested to simplify application and recertification processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These improvements will likely bridge the gap between SNAP and WIC enrollment at 66% and 49%, respectively. She said the Arkansas Food Bank continues to fortify its mission by employing a liaison to assist families with the application process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hungry Kids Can\u2019t Learn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNotwithstanding, not all ALICE families qualify for state food benefit programs. Limited access to healthy, nutritious food is linked to food insecurity, which affects more than 130,000 children in Arkansas. When considering these facts, Eddings, Gilbert and Jones reiterated the same sentiment: \u201cHungry kids can\u2019t learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilbert said she is driven by shaping students’ relationships with food and adjusting to their needs. She said some children have become disconnected from food, leading her team to encourage food education in and outside the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, students can observe the honey-making process at a local bee farm, egg hatching in the classroom, or attend a local health fair. Gilbert understands it may take an additional program, a smiling face, and the initiative to talk with students shying away from their food. \u201cI love impacting lives \u2013 teaching kids. (We) might not be able to reach but two or three a year about eating healthy and exercising, but that’s more than there was,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important to offer as healthy meals as we can, but still keep along the lines of what is trending in eating and be able to have access to the foods that we know they’re going to eat,\u201d states Gilbert. She said these strategies may entail allowing the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls to roam the hallways or providing ample fresh fruit to keep the students excited and engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Hope Public Schools Summer Cafeteria Program pops up at various locations around the Hempstead County community and is available to any student 18 and under with a student ID, including those from neighboring school districts. Recently, Gov. Sarah Sanders announced that Arkansas will participate in the summer EBT program, giving children access to healthy food when school is out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is known that for some children, meals eaten at school are oftentimes the only access to food for the day,\u201d Eddings says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Working Group, signed into law by Sanders\u2019 predecessor, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, intentionally developed the report so that some community-level recommendations could be implemented immediately. At the same time, other proposals will take time to gain momentum; many communities are working to get there, and other organizations are already on the right track, Eddings said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All ALICE individuals and experts agree that the urgency of addressing food insecurity in Arkansas is not just a responsibility of policymakers and organizations \u2013 it’s a call to action for every citizen. Eddings notes citizens can make a difference by fostering empathy, reducing stigma, and actively engaging with local groups. Whether working collaboratively or creating their initiatives, the collective effort of the community \u2013 the people \u2013 will propel Arkansas forward in the fight against hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Berry-Watson it is more personal. \u201cWhether you go to Kroger, or Walmart, or to the tin box or the food pantry, if you’re feeding your children, then there should be no stigma,\u201d she concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(De’Stani Clark is the ALICE Project writer for Arkansas Delta Informer<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By De\u2019Stani Clark \u2013 Many working-class families in Arkansas are attempting to bridge the widening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,2],"tags":[54,57,56,55],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1283"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1316,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283\/revisions\/1316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansasdeltainformer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}