RiceDepot.Org | Who We Serve

Who We Serve
Nearly one out of every six Arkansans lives in poverty. According to the latest census data (2005), some 164,510 children and 99,096 senior citizens were among the more than 400,000 impoverished residents. No area of the state is without need as poverty and hunger is a problem throughout all 75 counties.

To meet that statewide need, the Arkansas Rice Depot has spent more than 25 years developing a presence across Arkansas. In 2006, we distributed more than five and a half million pounds of food to hungry residents in nearly every county. We were able to feed those in need through a network of more than 800 local hunger-relief organizations. In addition to the local food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens & schools that participate in our network, the Arkansas Rice Depot provides 10 regional food drops so food pantries outside of central Arkansas don't have to make the long drive into Little Rock to access our food donation network.

The Arkansas Rice Depot reaches out to those Arkansans in need through a variety of programs including Food For Kids, Food For Seniors & Disaster Relief.

Statewide Statistics

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% OF POPULATION

Total Population
2,701,431

Persons In Poverty
461,842

17.2%

   Children Under 18 In Poverty
164,510

24.9%

   Seniors Over 65 In Poverty
49,096

1.8%

Births To Mothers Ages 10-17
1,922

POUNDS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTED
5,661,424

County By County
Please choose a county below to view information about local population, persons in poverty, births to teenage mothers and existing Arkansas Rice Depot programs. You can use your browser's back button to return to this page.

Hunger Facts
• In 2005, 35.1 million people lived in households considered to be food insecure. Of these, 22.7 million are adults and 12.4 million are children.

• Between 2000 & 2001, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 23% in American cities with 54% of requests coming from families with children. [Source: U.S. Conference of Mayors]

• Over 16% of US households with children were food insecure in 2001. [Source: Center on Hunger and Poverty]

• More than one-third of families leaving welfare reported that they ran out of food and did not have money for more. [Source: Urban Institute]

• Hungry children, even those who experience only mild malnutrition during the critical stages of their development, may suffer irreparable harm. [Source: Center on Hunger and Poverty]

• Hungry children have a harder time learning in school, short attention spans and suffer more absence due to illness. [Source: Center on Hunger and Poverty]

• 29% of US children under the age of 12 (13.6 million children) are hungry or are at risk of hunger daily. [Source: FRAC 1999]

• 26 million additional people could be fed, at US levels of consumption, if the amount of edible food wasted in the United States each day were reduced by one-third. [Source: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1999]

• 13 million kids live in households that do no have an adequate supply of food. [Source: USDA]

• 40% of all emergency shelter food recipients are children, although they represent only 25% of the US population. [Source: USDA]

• Children who are hungry are less likely to be productive citizens. [Source: Center on Hunger and Poverty]

• Almost 100 billion pounds of safe, edible food -- meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, milk and eggs -- are thrown away every year by retailers, restaurants and farmers while 25 million Americans are hungry (including 12 million children). [Source: USDA, 1997]

• 97% of food stamp benefits go to households with gross incomes equal to or below the poverty line and over 80% go to households with children. [Source: Food Research and Action Center, 1996]

• Undernutrition during any period during childhood can have detrimental effects on cognitive development and adult productivity. [Source: Center on Hunger, Poverty & Nutrition, Tufts University, 1993]