Health, Hunger and Nutrition

• We provide training and technical assistance to more than 100 schools in Arkansas, helping more than 85,000 students learn about and access healthy, nutritious food at school.
• We work with numerous community organizations and congregate meal programs to help underserved communities access food at home.
• As part of the AmeriCorps VISTA’s Arkansas Community Health Corps program, we have trained and deployed more than 20 AmeriCorps VISTAs to address food insecurity and improve nutrition through agriculture and community-based work across the state.
• We’re reducing food insecurity among Arkansans with type 2 diabetes by delivering healthy food boxes directly to their door, as well as education to help them manage their diabetes. As of August 31, 2023, we’ve worked with partners to deliver more than 2,000 healthy food boxes to patients in 19 counties across the state.

Through our Health, Hunger and Nutrition programs, we offer expertise, guidance, and training to organizations and schools who share our common goal: to ensure every person in Arkansas has access to healthy, nutritious food.

– Charles Hardin
Senior Project Manager

Food insecurity is a lack of consistent access to food that is safe, adequate, culturally appropriate and nutritious. It can be a temporary situation for a household, or it can last a long time.

In Arkansas…

• 15% of people are food insecure
  National Average: 10.2%
• 19.7% of Arkansas children are food insecure
  National Average: 8.4%
• 26% of students are facing obesity
  National average: 19.7%
• 15% of Arkansans are diabetic
  National average: 11.3%
• 34.6% of Arkansans have prediabetes
  National average: 38%