Pine Bluff is attempting to combat hunger

Pine Bluff, Arkansas – There is a problem with food insecurity in many Arkansas counties.

Governor Sanders awarded funds to counties like Jefferson County which are attempting to end food deserts in an effort to address the problem.

A food desert is an area without easy access to fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables. After a nearby grocery shop shuttered over two years ago, Pine Bluff’s Ward 1 was declared a food desert.

Pine Bluff alderman LaTisha Brunson stated, “It was a grocery store that was there for more than 20 years in a community, and right now, people are struggling.”

The governor declared that food insecurity in Jefferson, Pulaski, and Yale counties will be addressed with the use of monies from the Arkansas Minority Health Commission.

The $10,000 funding will be used by Jefferson County for food desert research and community gardens.

“Investors who want to come to Pine Bluff and say, ‘yes, I want to open up this grocery store’, but here’s some hard numbers behind what that looks like,” said Brunson.

The alderman stated that she is still trying to get a grocery store to open there and that she has been in contact with an Oklahoman black-owned business in an attempt to persuade them to visit Pine Bluff.

While there are other food pantries, including one in Ward 1, to help make fresh food accessible, the Arkansas Food Bank has been making sure the Pine Bluff community is not forgotten.

“Last year, we distributed 3.7 million pounds in Jefferson County alone, and 1.5 million of those pounds were fresh produce,” stated Sherri Jones, the Arkansas Food Bank’s Chief Programs Officer.