The Mulberry food pantry will receive federal funding reaching up to $500,000 to expand its services. The pantry serves the rural areas of Crawford County.
Mulberry food pantry secures funding for expansion
The community food pantry in Mulberry will receive $500,000 in federal funding to expand its services. The pantry will use the funds to acquire a truck, improve the facility, and make ADA-compliant upgrades.
The pantry serves hundreds of families monthly in the rural areas of Crawford County. An all-volunteer staff runs the pantry.
The Mulberry Pantry leaders worked with U.S. Rep. Steve Womack to secure funding over a three-year process. The Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill now includes the pantry.
The funding will help the pantry purchase a box truck for food transport. It will also help make accessibility upgrades for both volunteers and beneficiaries.
Additionally, Suzy Ferguson, the pantry’s director, said the funds will help the pantry better serve families in rural areas where access to food is limited.
“We identified four focus areas to expand our capacity. We need transportation, service delivery improvements, ADA upgrades to the building and some safety improvements for our volunteers,” she said.
However, it operates out of a donated building with limited accessibility and safety concerns. Ferguson described the structure as an older church auxiliary building.
Likewise, transportation is also a serious issue affecting the pantry. The pantry does not have an official truck, and volunteers relied on personal vehicles. Most of the volunteers are also retirees.
Pantry addressing local food insecurity
The Mulberry food pantry is playing a pivotal role in addressing food insecurity in the area. It serves communities where grocery stores and large food distributions are difficult to access.
It serves a large portion of eastern Crawford County. Families in Dyer, Alma, Mountainburg and Locke, and even some in Franklin County, benefit from the pantry.
Moreover, the pantry helps about 300 households at a time during monthly distribution events. It also reaches up to 500 families each month through other programs.
Food insecurity is a wide-spread problem in Arkansas that several organisations are trying to help tackle.
According to the Arkansas Health Survey, about 28.8% of adults in Arkansas, roughly 688,000 people, experience food insecurity. This means that these people lack access to nutritious food needed for a healthy lifestyle.
However, the pantry offers protein, fresh produce, and dairy products, which are difficult for struggling families to afford. The pantry supplements families’ food supply.