LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The 2022 Governor's Food Desert Working Group report was released Friday morning and it revealed that more than half of the counties in Arkansas have identified food deserts.
The Governor's Food Desert Working Group shared solutions in order to tackle the issue and provide more healthy food options to those in the state.
"It's so important that we all have the nutrition that we need to be able to thrive," Governor's Food Desert Working Group Co-Chair Kathy Webb said. "And we have concrete answers to the problem."
Webb said the group's 2022 report represents the beginning of their work to solve an ongoing issue.
"While efforts to combat through deserts started long before this year, there's been little success," Webb said. "As we continue to see communities across the state lose access to grocery stores."
According to the report, at least 62 out of 75 counties in Arkansas have identified food deserts, which are areas where people have few to no convenient options to buy affordable and healthy food.
"Our focus groups showed the importance of grocery stores or similar models to communities," Webb said. "We know that the scope of the problem is big."
Webb said the group is looking at how other states fight food deserts and not all the solutions include opening grocery stores.
Altheimer Mayor Zola Hudson is in the process of implementing grocery distribution hubs in her town after seeing them in action in Mississippi.
"In 2019, our grocery store closed which had a negative impact on our community," Hudson said. "We're not a fluent community and this closure created an extra burden on low-income families, seniors, and those without transportation."
That's why she said her community will benefit from a grocery online ordering distribution service. It allows people to order food online at a partnering retailer, then has a non-profit deliver the food to a community hub location that's closer than the grocery store.
"This project will mean the world to our community," Hudson said. "It truly means the world to us and I'm so excited about being a part of the solution."
Webb said the change won't happen overnight, but she's confident the group will see improvements next year.
"It's inspirational," Webb said. "I think it's going to be very concrete, what we get accomplished."
Hudson said a survey will be released in January for her residents to give input for the grocery distribution hub.
The full food desert report can be found HERE.