Record Donation at Arkansas Rice Day!
In honor of National Rice Month, the Arkansas rice industry donated 152,600 lbs of rice today (September 11, 2017) at the Arkansas Foodbank. The donation from six mills will provide over a million servings of rice to help feed families, children, and seniors all across our state.
“The Arkansas rice industry is committed to being good stewards of our resources and helping to alleviate hunger in our state ,” Arkansas Rice Council President Jeff Rutledge said. “We take great pride in our partnership with the Arkansas Foodbank and appreciate their efforts to feed our hungry neighbors.”
September is also Hunger Action Month. More than 549,000 Arkansans struggle with hunger and may not know where they’ll find their next meal. That number includes one in FOUR children who may not have enough to eat. This rice donation will go in to weekend backpacks for children, food boxes for home-bound seniors and will fill the shelves at food pantries for families in need.
“During National Rice Month, not only do we recognize the amazing work the rice industry does for our state’s economy but also the pivotal role Arkansas rice farmers play in the fight against hunger,” said Rhonda Sanders, Arkansas Foodbank CEO. “We are so pleased to continue to have this great partnership to give nutritious rice grown right here in Arkansas.”
Participating rice mills are Cormier Rice Mill of DeWitt; Windmill Rice Company of Jonesboro; Riceland Foods, Inc. of Stuttgart; Producers Rice Mill of Stuttgart; Riviana Foods of Carlisle; and Specialty Rice, Inc. of Brinkley. The donation will follow Governor Asa Hutchinson’s Rice Month proclamation at the State Capitol.
The rice will be distributed across the state to the five Feeding America food banks: River Valley Regional Food Bank in Ft Smith; Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas in Jonesboro; Harvest Regional Food Bank in Texarkana; Arkansas Foodbank in Little Rock; and Northwest Arkansas Food Bank in Springdale.
Together, we are united to fight hunger in our state.