LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A new study from the University of Arkansas shows a troubling new snapshot of hunger in Arkansas, with 28.8% of adult Arkansans facing food insecurity. This study also breaks down the prevalence of food insecurity by county.
The Arkansas Health Survey says that 688,000 Arkansas adults face food insecurity, and it highlighted that Lee, Crittenden, Union, Columbia, Sebastian, and Lincoln counties have food insecurity rates of 32% or higher.
In Lincoln County, Lend-A-Hand Food Distribution Center sees that disparity in its rural communities.
“We have a lot of elderly people who are living off SSI and social security, and then a lot of these older people having family members who are out of work, move in with them with small children, and that’s increasing every month,” says Judy Story, the center’s president.
Though the survey only tracked adults, Story believes that food insecurity rates could be similar for children from struggling families.
“They’re just struggling to make ends meet…by the time they pay utilities, they don’t have anything left to buy food with.”
Though Lend-A-Hand is based in Star City, it services all of Lincoln County, even providing food for those in the county’s other cities of Grady and Gould, both over 15 miles away.
Portions of Lincoln County are considered to be in a food desert, and Michael Niño, the survey’s lead researcher, says there are several reasons as to why this is a commonality in the state’s rural areas.
“Some of these areas are isolated, rural, so there’s not much economic development in an area, and we also see folks just moving toward the population centers.”
Niño, who is also the associate professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas, says that food insecurity exists everywhere, and not just in Arkansas’ rural communities.
“Even in parts of Fayetteville and Springdale, we’re seeing some tracts where 40% of residents are food insecure.”
Niño also says that Pulaski and Saline Counties have similar tracts showing that 40% of its residents, particularly in the south and southeastern portions of the regions, are food insecure.
Story believes all of these struggling counties could benefit if more federal funding extended their way.
“We’re a small community; we have very few businesses, so we don’t have a lot of money there.”
Arkansas’ food insecurity rate is well above the national rate. The USDA ranked Arkansas as the most food insecure state for three consecutive years.
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