The plates are emptier, the shelves are barer, and the cries of hunger in Pine Bluff are growing louder. Officials say a wave of cuts by the USDA has swept through local food programs, leaving food banks like Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) struggling to feed a community teetering on the brink of widespread food insecurity.
Pat Tate, executive director of the organization, spoke candidly about her current dilemma during the Jefferson County 100 Families Alliance Meeting, hosted by council member LaTisha Brunson at the Generator on Tuesday. She explained that the very lifelines that sustained countless low-income families have been severely severed, pushing them further into desperation at a time when support is more crucial than ever.
According to Tate, under new leadership, the USDA has slashed over $1 billion from vital food programs, a decision with immediate and dire consequences for organizations like N2N. Two of their three primary food bank programs have already been affected, with the third slated for termination in 2026. The abrupt cancellation of the Local Food System Program in April delivered a crippling blow, halting the flow of fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins from local farmers not only to N2N, but also to Arkansas public schools.
Now, N2N’s largest program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, has also been cut. This program was the cornerstone of their efforts, enabling them to distribute over 900 bags of food per month to families battling food insecurity. N2N also serves approximately 100 hot lunches daily, Monday through Friday, to anyone in need.
For families already reeling from recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, these food services are not merely a convenience, but a matter of survival, Tate said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The stark reality of these cuts hit home a few weeks ago during N2N’s monthly food bank delivery. “Typically, we receive 18-20 pallets of food, each standing approximately six feet tall. The other day, only two pallets arrived, one containing spaghetti and the other, figs,” she said.
Adding insult to injury, Tate said the new income qualification guidelines for the coming year have been released, increasing the qualifying income levels from 130% to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Community leaders convened to address the critical issues of food insecurity and housing instability, sharing insights into the challenges they face and the innovative solutions being implemented.
The meeting, titled “Feeding the Rent, Starving the Table: Tackling the Double Crisis of Food and Housing Insecurity,” brought together community leaders and organizations dedicated to finding solutions for these intertwined challenges.
The event featured a panel of distinguished speakers who offered insights and strategies from their respective fields:
Lori Walker, director of economic and community development for Pine Bluff, provided the municipal perspective on how local government initiatives are working to alleviate these burdens.
Angela White Smith, executive director, Habitat for Humanity Jefferson County, shared her expertise on housing solutions and the impact of stable housing on family well-being.
Damali Wilson and Charles Harper, World Won Development, discussed their organization’s efforts in community development and their approaches to empowering families.
Josh Harris, Executive Director & Founder of Well Fed, highlighted the critical role of food access and nutrition in addressing the broader crisis. Well Fed currently operates a mobile grocery store in Altheimer at the library.
Harris explained how Well Fed is designed to provide healthy food options, especially in areas that might not have traditional grocery stores or where people have limited access to fresh produce, and told Tate during the meeting that he would help her.
Harris, focused on healthy food access, identified the scarcity of fresh, healthy food as a major problem. He emphasized that addressing housing and food issues requires a multi-faceted approach. His organization’s solution involves community-supported agriculture models in small towns, bringing affordable, fresh produce directly to residents, as traditional grocery stores are often not economically sustainable in these areas.
The program involves partnerships, including with “Food On The Move” and community leaders, aiming to engage communities and provide educational classes on healthy eating and nutrition.
Brunson articulated the fundamental challenge faced by families in crisis and highlighted the communal responsibility in addressing it. She emphasized the collaborative nature of solutions.
“It takes all of us to be able to do all the work,” said Brunson.
Walker detailed the city’s efforts in housing, acknowledging the condition of many homes. Walker explained home repair assistance for owner-occupants. The city uses Community Development Block Grant and HOME program funds to help owner-occupants.
While these funds are not intended for full-house rehabilitation, they address small and concerning conditions. A significant solution highlighted was an upcoming facility designed to assist homeless students, addressing the challenge of family separation due to housing insecurity. The hope is for families to transition from temporary housing to finding a permanent home, potentially through Section 8 or even purchasing a house.
Wilson and Harper, representatives from Oasis grocery store in Tulsa, shared their experience in overcoming the challenge of a 40-year food desert, implying their work extends beyond just selling food to fostering community well-being. The Oasis grocery store was brought to Tulsa specifically in the Greenwood district. This area had been without a grocery store for about 40 years. The representatives mentioned building a relationship and collaboration since 2020 to bring the grocery store to that area.
It was also mentioned that when the Oasis grocery store opened, some people thought it would be a failure rather than a success. Harper said they had to engage the community and make them understand their responsibility for the store’s success.
Smith spoke about the difficulties in securing resources, particularly volunteersa: “It is very hard to ask someone who doesn’t have adequate housing themselves to come out and volunteer time.”
She also highlighted the financial hurdle of paying a national franchise fee to open a ReStore, which sells donated items to fund their mission, similar to Goodwill. Smith described creative fundraising solutions, such as selling donated goods from a warehouse and “flipping” a donated house, to generate much-needed revenue.
A central point of discussion, emphasized by Brunson, revolved around the establishment of a grocery store in the community, drawing parallels with the Oasis success story. She specifically recounted reaching out to the Oasis team after attending a conference and seeing their model for providing food access.
Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian Flowers gave praise to Brunson’s efforts. When Brunson took office in January 2023, she knew her priority would be to figure out how to fill the need for a grocery store after Super 1 Foods shut down in November 2022, putting many families in an inconvenient situation.
In July of 2023, Brunson began the recruitment phase with Oasis, hoping to get buy-in and collaborations from Pine Bluff community partners to make the Oasis vision come to fruition. In September 2023, she secured a letter of intent for future developments for the city, approved by the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency. The letter approved was to negotiate a public-private partnership with Oasis Fresh Market grocery store in the 71603 zip code.
“People ask me all the time when we are going to get a grocery store,” Flowers said. “There are larger issues that we are working on to really jump-start and impact economic growth in our city.”
In the meantime, Flowers said the city will regenerate an effective, sustainable farmer’s market.
“The second thing we are going to do is figure out how we can replicate what they did in Altheimer by creating a mobile grocery store in Pine Bluff,” she said. ” And the third thing is we will bring Oasis to Pine Bluff, Arkansas.”