Today is National Agriculture Day, and in Arkansas, a day set aside to recognize the importance of local agriculture may feel especially poignant. A report from the American Farm Bureau Federation shows that 33 farms in Arkansas filed for bankruptcy in 2025 — the most of any state last year and the most for the state in a year in the 21st century. Pairing that with a report from the University of Arkansas that nearly 30 percent of Arkansans face food insecurity, the data looks troubling for the state.
Taylor Speegle is the president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. He says hunger cannot be solved by food banks alone.
“That requires policy. It requires support of many different sectors. And so that's what I think about when I think about us having this really strong farming culture in the state. But also we've got a lot of room and a lot of work to do.”
Agriculture continues to be the state's top industry with an annual economic impact of around $20 billion. Speegle says partnering with local farmers is critical to their work, but support from strong legislation is critical, too. One way is through a federal program called the Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP — a federal program that works with local farmers to purchase surplus food and distribute it to local food banks.
Speegle says advocacy is critical now, and not just from people like him.
“Advocacy is all of our jobs, so making sure that when you have the opportunity to have a conversation — work on farms and farm workers are essential to helping people that are facing hunger, and so the people of our state get the opportunity to reinforce that.”
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