A recent report shows Arkansas has a "food desert" issue in urban and rural communities.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson formed the Arkansas Gov.'s Food Desert Working Group, which issued a report recommending steps to alleviate food insecurities in Arkansas.

Kathy Webb, CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, who serves as co-chair of the 18-member working group, said the food-deserts issue has been exacerbated over the last few years with a number of national grocery store closures, leaving some communities without access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

She added the group's original thought was recommendations would center on legislative changes, but what they found is change is centered on community action, with the Legislature playing a role through connections and better policy.

"We talked to people all over the country and got ideas for ways to make change," Webb recounted. "And in my opinion, it begins at the community level with community leaders, local elected officials as well as legislative."

The working group recommended adding support for food access into state fiscal policy, by setting up local and state tax incentives, creating a revolving loan program, and providing grant funds for pilot programs in areas with low-to-no access to fresh foods.

She noted the working group traveled to neighboring states Mississippi and Tennessee to look at different models and studying how some of them could be adapted to fit needs in Arkansas. She emphasized a key finding of the report was more than 82% of Arkansas counties have one or more communities in need of improved access to food.

"It is 62 of 75 counties, and in some of these areas, a brick-and-mortar grocery store is probably not going to be the solution," Webb acknowledged. "But there are other solutions. And it's making all of the different possibilities available to people in the community."

She also pointed out another recommendation in the report is for the Legislature to improve state food benefit programs for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Women, Infants and Children program, to make it easier to access it virtually.

"Some of that involves work at the federal level," Webb stressed. "You currently cannot use WIC for online. To purchase things online, we'd like to see that change. We'd like to see more, smaller retailers be able to accept SNAP benefits online."

Webb recalled the group met with retailers virtually in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, who accept SNAP for online purchases, which is making a real difference in their rural communities.

She added the Arkansas Gov.'s Food Desert Working Group will be starting focus groups in January and community surveys to see what the community is going to respond to, and then match the needs with the potential solutions.

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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