#2BFayetteville

Too many people in Northwest Arkansas are hungry. According to Feeding America, more than 13% of Northwest Arkansas households are considered food insecure, including one-in-five children. Food insecurity isn't caused by a lack of food, there's plenty to go around. There are all kinds of barriers between hungry people and healthy, nutritious food. Thankfully, people and organizations in Northwest Arkansas are working hard to break these barriers down and increase nutrition security, helping to ensure access to not just food, but nutritious food; and that includes efforts to conserve farmland. Farming is a way of life for many, but the actual number of family farms and farmed acreage in Arkansas has been decreasing. Several organizations, including the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, Center for Arkansas Farms and Food, and Market Center of the Ozarks, which is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, are stepping forward to address the issue. Preservation of the Family Farm "The family farm is rarely passed down as it once was generation-to-generation," said Susan Koehler, farmland preservation manager for Northwest Arkansas Land Trust. "Many existing farmers are farming through their retirement for several reasons. They may not have heirs who want to farm, they may not have the finances to fund retirement, and they can be reluctant to let go of a lifestyle they have grown to love." Today's young farmers are often first generation and are not inheriting land, much less established farming businesses. "Many new and beginning farmers have the passion to farm, but they are struggling with knowledge, experience and access to capital that challenge their success in farming," said Heather Friedrich, assistant director for the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food. "The modern small family farm needs to be close to communities so they can sell to a variety of markets, however, land in these areas is also desirable to commercial developers, which often makes it too costly to purchase and support a farm business." Growing More Farmers and Local Food Northwest Arkansas is known for its livestock production, particularly cattle, chicken and hogs. Not so long ago, the area was also known for its orchards, nuts and specialty crops. With the recent growing popularity and success of the farmers markets in our area, fruit and vegetable production has increased. However, there is still an unmet demand for more of these crops at a wholesale scale, and many young farmers are interested in going in that direction. To address this, the Walton Family Foundation funded a feasibility study in 2017 to figure out what barriers prevent the growth of more fruits and vegetables in our area, and how to overcome them. The study also looked into how growing more fruits and vegetables could be profitable for local Addressing the "root" of food insecurity by KAREN rice 16

• Cover