PHOTO: Pallets of produce are stored inside Arkansas Foodbank’s refrigerated warehouse on Nov. 4, 2025. Arkansas was again ranked as the most food insecure state in the country, according to a federal report released in December. | Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate
By AINSLEY PLATT | Arkansas Advocate
A recent federal report again identified Arkansas as the hungriest state, with nearly one in five people on average struggling to afford or access nutritious food over a three year period ending in 2024.
A little over 19% of Arkansans were food insecure between 2022 and 2024 on average, reversing pre-pandemic improvements made by the state, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released in December. Comparatively, 15% of the state’s residents were food insecure between 2019 and 2021.
People are considered food insecure in the USDA report if they do not have the financial resources or physical access to consistently obtain nutritious food.
“These numbers represent real families – parents skipping meals so their children can eat, seniors choosing between groceries and medication, and working households struggling to make ends meet,” Sylvia Blain, CEO of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said in a press release. “No state should hold this ranking year after year.”
The percentage of Arkansans who experience food insecurity over the report’s three-year period is higher than the 2024 national average of 13.7%. The number of Americans who are considered food insecure spiked post-pandemic after a decade of sustained improvements, and has yet to decrease again. Arkansas has consistently held a place at or near the top of American food insecurity rankings in recent years.
The number of Arkansans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been decreasing for years, even as food insecurity has risen post-pandemic. The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance wrote that while the program, originally known as food stamps, are “essential tools” for reducing hunger, more was needed. Better access to food and nutrition education are also necessary.
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders made childhood food insecurity one of her priorities after taking office in 2023, regularly touting a bipartisan state law passed by the Legislature last year providing free school breakfast to all public school students, regardless of income.
She has also supported moves by the second Trump administration to implement stricter work requirements for SNAP recipients as well as bans on using food stamps to purchase junk food.
Critics argue such restrictions are overly burdensome, do not address the underlying economic struggles that drive people to need assistance and could result in eligible people losing benefits.
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