Category: Food Insecurity

The Food Insecurity Beat is covered by reporter Sophie Neubaum.

Posted on

Fayetteville Food Pantry Offers Assistance for Spanish-Speaking Families

Fayetteville Food Pantry Assists Spanish-Speaking Families

The Latino community makes up 8 percent of the Fayetteville population, making outreach programs like Thursday nights for Spanish-speaking families at LifeSource International important.

Warehouse manager Arturo Garcia, left, works with the other Spanish-speaking volunteers at LifeSource International. Photo by Sophia Neubaum.

By Sophia Neubaum
The Razorback Reporter

Programs in northwest Arkansas are working to aid Latino residents by dedicating time and resources to those who experience food insecurity, according to interviews.

The majority of the Latino community that has been served by the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank earns less than $20,000 per household, and most of the households comprise four members, according to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. In 2018, the poverty threshold for a household with four members over age 18 was $25,701, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Low-income families are more likely to experience food insecurity because low-income areas often lack what are described as full-service grocery stores and farmers markets. Those under-served neighborhoods have greater availability to fast-food restaurants and frequently lack transportation to healthful food providers, according to the Food and Research Action Center.


Latino  Community Household Income Per $10,000 – Courtesy of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

An area is considered to be low-access if at least 500 people, or at least 33% of the population is far from the nearest supermarket, said Alana Rhone, USDA agricultural economist.

Kent Eikenberry, CEO of Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, thinks it’s important that outreach programs are geared specifically toward the Latino community, he said. “It certainly is a large part of the population,” Eikenberry said, citing the need to serve the Latino community, which makes up 8% of the Fayetteville population according to the U.S. Census.

The Latino community is the largest minority group in the area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. On average, Latinos comprise 21% of the population of the four largest northwest Arkansas cities – Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville – according to the Census.

Along with the Food Bank, other programs in the area also are working to assist this demographic. 

One non-profit organization, LifeSource International, has devoted one night a week designed to accommodate the Latino community through food assistance with Spanish-speaking volunteers.

The program has been open for more than five years and, “arose out of a need to help that community and make them comfortable,” said Coletta Patterson, LifeSource International development director.

“We have a large Hispanic population, so we have a night dedicated to them. We have several Spanish-speaking volunteers that make them feel more comfortable,” Patterson said.

Areas in green are low-income census tracts where a significant number or share of residents is more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket, according to the USDA website. Map courtesy USDA.

LifeSource aims to help anyone, regardless of background, warehouse manager Arturo Garcia said.

“LifeSource is truly a blessing for the community and the different people we serve here,” Garcia said. “Thursdays are mostly dedicated to the Hispanics, but if people from another country or nationality come in and they’re in need, we serve them.”

The clients they serve outside the Latino community come from various places, such as the Marshall Islands and India, Garcia said.

“There’s people who move to the area looking for a better life for their family and their kids, and there’s people who arrive to the area wearing the clothes on their backs. They don’t have anything,” Garcia said. “A lot of the times they’re helped by family, friends, or even people from their country, and they stay at their homes until they get to know the area, get a job, and move out.” 

LifeSource International food assistance is open 8:30-11a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 600 S. School Ave. Spanish-speaking volunteers are available at 5:30 p.m., Thursdays. Clients are required to bring identification.

Posted on

Arkansas Ranks 3rd in Food Insecurity, Resources Assist Residents

Arkansas Ranks 3rd in Food Insecurity, Resources Assist Residents

Resources in northwest Arkansas, including an on-campus food pantry and off-campus organizations, are working to combat food insecurity after the most recent U.S. Census ranked the state third for overall population food insecurity.

Resources in northwest Arkansas are working to combat food insecurity after the most recent U.S. Census ranked the state third for overall population food insecurity.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as, “a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.” Feeding America’s 2017 Map the Meal Gap study found that the food insecurity rate in Washington County is 14.4 percent, meaning more than 32,000 people are food insecure in the county.

Fayetteville and UA students are not an exception. The Jane B. Gearhart Full Circle Food Pantry on campus was established to combat student, staff and faculty food insecurity, Full Circle chair Jon Mahaffey said.

Thirty-eight percent of undergraduate students are food insecure; 47 percent of graduate students are food insecure, Mahaffey said.

“If you’re a graduate student and you have a scholarship, usually that’s the only funding that you have,” said Alexis Skinner, volunteer coordinator at the Full Circle Food Pantry. “So you tend to be in a lot more situations where you face food insecurity.”

Several resources, such as LifeSource International, also are working to fight food insecurity outside of the UofA. The most recent census also found that Arkansas is ranked first in the nation for both elderly and childhood food insecurity.

“We get a lot of seniors who are on fixed incomes, so they come to the pantry once a month and that’s the only way they can stretch their budget,” said Coletta Patterson, the LifeSource International development director.

“A lot of working families,” she said, “are barely getting by; a lot of single parents as well, and quite a few veterans and homeless.”

Both organizations are run entirely on donations and rely on volunteers to help them serve those who use food pantries. 

“The pantry is open for anyone who’s ever in a tight spot or needs food,” Patterson said.

The Full Circle Food Pantry is open 11a.m.-3p.m. Mondays, 3-5p.m. Wednesdays, and 10a.m.-2p.m Fridays at 324 Stadium Drive,. during the academic school year to all students and faculty with a university ID.

LifeSource International is open from 8:30-11a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 600 S. School Ave., and require an ID as well as basic contact information. Clients get three to four days worth of food, and can only use the service once every 31 days, Patterson said.