Community of Practice

By sharing skills and experiences, the Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice is a group of organizations and individuals who work together to cultivate new strategies to address recurring problems related to food insecurity in northwest Arkansas.

The Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice is guided by a diverse advisory board of individuals who are currently experiencing food insecurity or have experienced food insecurity in the recent past.

The Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice is funded by the Walmart Foundation.

A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion about a topic, and who come together to learn from each other and improve skills.

Effective communities of practice create lasting, positive change that would not be possible without the wisdom of the whole group. They focus on collaboration to find solutions to challenging community problems.

Communities of practice are a way for people to connect, share knowledge and collaborate. Regular interaction and relationship building in a safe and supportive environment are an important part of a community of practice.

The Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice will use planning, learning and evaluation to achieve a shared purpose aimed at four key goals:

• Increasing SNAP/WIC Access
• Improving equitable and inclusive healthy food access and availability
• Evolving food recovery and distribution models
• Increasing the ability of organizations to consistently understand the system in which they operate, and to respond to rapidly changing contexts of food insecurity as a coordinated body.

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.