UAMS food, health services get grant

Walmart gives $375,000 to NW campus; funds to help translation of hotline

FAYETTEVILLE — Grants from the Walmart Foundation will help the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional Campus address gaps in food access and health care services in underserved populations during the covid-19 pandemic, according to a news release from the school.

The Walmart Foundation gave the university a $375,000 grant, part of which will allow it to set up translation services for its Health Now hotline where Arkansans may see health care providers via video chat, according to the news release.

The services will be available in Spanish and Marshallese, according to David Wise, spokesman for UAMS.

“The ripple effects of the pandemic’s impact on our health and economy will place thousands of additional individuals in a state of food insecurity,” Pearl McElfish, vice chancellor for UAMS Northwest, said in the release.

“It will also disproportionately affect individuals and families at higher risk of food insecurity, including those who are lower income, lower mobility, living in rural areas and those facing chronic illnesses. We are grateful to the Walmart Foundation for the funds to address these disparities during this critical time.”

A separate $500,000 grant to the Arkansas Community Foundation will establish the Northwest Arkansas Equitable Food Response and Relief fund. UAMS will coordinate grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to organizations working to address covid-19-related food insecurity in Washington, Benton, Madison and Carroll counties, according to the news release.

UAMS will review applications and advise which community projects receive money to improve access to health food. Organizations may immediately begin applying for grants, and applications will be accepted until the money is gone. Interested community organizations may apply online at UAMS Northwest’s website.

A team from the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research, led by assistant professors Emily English and Christopher Long, will coordinate the food efforts.

Long said they will mainly look at how organizations can leverage their strengths to serve more people as well as innovative approaches for those who may be hard to reach, such as residents in rural parts of Madison County.

“We’ll be looking for partners who are able to overcome language barriers and be culturally sensitive,” Long said.

Organizations that provide food to people in need are seeing increased demands and new expenses, such as personal protective equipment for staff. They may have been able to provide food to a building full of people before, but are now faced with finding ways to safely provide food, such as through delivery services, he said.

About 14% of residents in Washington and Madison counties were considered food insecure in 2019, according to an annual report by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. About 11% of Benton County residents and about 12% of Carroll County residents were considered food insecure.

Organizations may apply for grant money online at northwestcampus.uams.edu/chr/projects/response-and-relief/.