Arkansas continues to rank among the highest states in the nation for food insecurity, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The report shows that nearly one in five households in Arkansas do not have reliable access to nutritious food, including one in three children. Families are increasingly turning to food pantries to help fill the gap.
Alma Morales, who has relied on the Helping Hand food pantry in Little Rock for more than a decade, said rising prices and stagnant wages make affording groceries a constant challenge.
“The prices keep going up. And you don’t have the wages like how you used to before,” Morales said.
Sylvia Blain, CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said the figures reflect ongoing economic struggles in the state. “Persistent low wages and high cost of living is a top factor. Something we need to address,” she said.
The USDA report is the final household food insecurity report to be released under the Trump administration. Blain said the alliance plans to continue gathering its own data to track the issue in Arkansas.
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