September is Hunger Action Month to bring awareness to the more than 13 million families in America facing food insecurity.
Did you know that Goza Middle School has more than 50 students dealing with food insecurity? According to the Clark County Community Health Assessment in 2025, 23% of children in Clark County face food insecurity. When they are at school, students can eat a healthy breakfast and get lunch, but if they are short of food at home on non-school days, the only way we can help is by sending a small bag of non-perishable items home with them on Friday afternoon.
On the left is a picture of a typical food bag sent home. This bag costs about $3 per student per week. With more than 200 students in the Arkadelphia Public School District facing food insecurity, that adds up to more than $600 weekly!
Arkansas has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation. Patterson Federal Credit Union has been providing food bags through the Acorn Project for the last couple of years.
There are several ways to help support this important project. First, you can donate money to the program. Arkadelphia Public School District employees were challenged to donate $12 per month to help fund the program along with the employees of several other local businesses including the police department. You can also donate non-perishable items that will be packed into the bags. If you have a group interested in spending a few hours packing bags, let me know and I will pass on the information to Nicole McGough, Vice President of Business Development at Patterson, and Acorn Project coordinator.
Below is a link to join the Acorn Project by setting up a donation which can be recurring or a single time. Together, we can make sure our students have something to eat over the weekend keeping them healthy and strong to make the most of their time at school during the week.
Click Here to be taken to The Acorn Project page
