By: Aidan Loney

Fayetteville, Ark. (UATV) – The City of Fayetteville is starting a citywide non-perishable food drive in an effort to support local food pantries and raise awareness about food insecurity in Fayetteville. Along with the food drive, Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn announced that she joined the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger on October 29, becoming the 568th mayor to join the national coalition.

The nonpartisan coalition works with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to ensure that every child has access to healthy food. After learning about the initiative through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Rawn says stepping up for residents is essential. 

“It’s important for all elected officials to take a stand for how we can make our communities better,” Mayor Rawn said, “and that starts with ending hunger.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.5% of U.S. households are food insecure, but in Arkansas, that number is 18.5%, which is the highest in the nation. With thousands of Fayetteville residents relying on SNAP benefits, the federal cuts and the ongoing government shutdown have only intensified the need for food donations. 

“I’m certainly hoping for and advocating for full restoration of snap benefits,” Mayor Rawn said, “I think we need to be doing whatever we can to supplement.”

Fayetteville residents can drop off their unused non-perishables during normal office hours at these locations:

• City Hall: 113 W. Mountain St. 

• Fayetteville Police Department: 1800 N. Stephen Carr Memorial Blvd.

• Any Fayetteville Fire Station

All donations go directly to local food pantries with foods like canned fruit, pasta, peanut butter, and other items that you can easily open and don’t have to be prepared are among the suggested donations. 

The City of Fayetteville is currently working on updating its website to include all the food pantries that residents can use. Almost every Fayetteville food pantry does not have a barrier to pick up food, which means if a resident says they need food, the pantry will provide food, with no questions asked. 

There is no official end date to the food drive, but Mayor Rawns said she plans on continuing it as long as it is needed.