Northwest Arkansas Food Systems, with support from the Walton Family Foundation, is providing grants to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Community Clinic and the University of Arkansas. The funding will offer farmers new resources to access capital and soil health programs, and improve access to healthy food in under-resourced communities.
The program expansion includes $730,000 in grants:
- Small Farm Grants: Support to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture will create the Arkansas Grown Grant for Northwest Arkansas Farmers pilot program. The effort offers small farms in Benton, Washington, Carroll and Madison counties grant opportunities up to $15,000 to fund operational needs that improve their access to wholesale markets. Farmers could use the funding for additional water and irrigation resources, mechanized production equipment and cold storage, among other priorities.
- Healthy Food Access: A grant to Community Clinic will expand a pilot SNAP program that improves regular and reliable access to nutritious, locally grown foods. The effort will allow patients to feed their families and build healthy habits to treat and prevent chronic disease. The program, implemented in partnership with the Food Conservancy, offers patients weekly access to boxes of locally grown produce. The grant will provide resources for additional staff and translators and increase the program’s footprint from distribution at a single site in Springdale to eight locations across Northwest Arkansas.
- Soil Health: The University of Arkansas will launch the Northwest Arkansas Specialty Crop Soil Health Program. The program will offer regional growers best practices to increase productivity and profitability by improving soil health. The university will conduct soil testing, surveys, on-farm recommendations and one-on-one support to measure improvements to soil health over time.
“The Arkansas Grown Grant for Northwest Arkansas Farmers pilot program will directly benefit produce farmers, enabling them to increase capacity and expand operations,” said Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture. “The financial assistance we’ll be able to provide to farmers in these four counties will help get local food on Arkansas tables.”
Northwest Arkansas Food Systems focuses on strengthening the capacity of small and mid-size farmers to grow fruits and vegetables for local people. The program supports new and existing farmers by connecting them to educational opportunities, land, technical assistance, capital and new markets. Last month, the Walton Family Foundation announced plans for Market Center of the Ozarks, a new 45,000-square-foot food hub. Set to open in 2024, the downtown Springdale facility will support local farmers and food startups by providing growers with a space to process their harvests, food entrepreneurs a place to create and innovate and the community a space to gather and access fresh, local produce.