Walmart Foundation donates to effort to fight food insecurity

FAYETTEVILLE — The Walmart Foundation has provided additional funding to a collaborative effort to address food insecurity in Northwest Arkansas.

The foundation recently awarded a $750,000 grant to the Northwest Arkansas Food Insecurity Community of Practice, according to a news release from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The Community of Practice is a collaboration between UAMS and more than 20 regional organizations that work together to develop strategies to combat food insecurity in the region.

The most recent grant will fund efforts over the next 18 months, the release states. During that time, the Community of Practice will add members from the education and health care sectors and develop two pilot projects focused on increasing access to nutrition programs and creating new approaches for food distribution.

Since its launch in 2020, the Community of Practice has worked to increase access to nutrition programs and has focused on improving equitable and inclusive healthy food access, according to the release. This has included installing food lockers at a partner pantry, training and building capacity at community-based organizations to boost outreach for nutrition programs, creating a Cultural Food Preference Toolkit, and encouraging the sharing of information and resources among local organizations.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Walmart Foundation and the commitment of individuals and organizations across Northwest Arkansas, we will continue to address food insecurity and ensure every person has access to healthy food,” said Bonnie Faitak, associate director of community programs at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, which oversees the Community of Practice.

Food insecurity is a lack of consistent access to safe, adequate, culturally appropriate and nutritious food, the release states. It can be a temporary or long-lasting situation for a household.

In 2023, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report found Arkansas had the highest level of food insecurity in the country, with an estimated 16.6% of Arkansas households struggling to put healthy food on the table.

“The Community of Practice has had an enormous impact on filling gaps in healthy food access in Northwest Arkansas during their first three years of operation,” said Angela Oxford, senior manager of NWA Giving on the Walmart.org team. “The Walmart Foundation’s continued investment will allow the Community of Practice to grow its leadership and work collaboratively to meet community needs to address food insecurity.”

“Thanks to the generosity of the Walmart Foundation and the commitment of individuals and organizations across Northwest Arkansas, we will continue to address food insecurity and ensure every person has access to healthy food.”

— Bonnie Faitak, associate director of community programs at the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation