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Council asks governor to avert SNAP lapse and creates Food Commission to address food insecurity
Summary
The council passed a walk‑on resolution urging Governor Sarah Sanders to use state resources to prevent hunger if federal SNAP funding lapses, and approved an ordinance establishing a Food Commission to advise the mayor and council on food insecurity, urban agriculture and nutrition education.
The Fayetteville City Council on Nov. 4 took two related steps aimed at addressing food insecurity: a walk‑on resolution asking Governor Sarah Sanders to use state resources if federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) funding lapses, and an ordinance creating a Food Commission to study and recommend policies to address local food‑access gaps.
Dr. DeAndre Jones introduced the resolution asking the governor to "do everything reasonably possible, including using available reserves," to ensure Arkansas families dependent on SNAP will not go hungry if federal SNAP benefits are interrupted. Council amended the draft to acknowledge that the governor had distributed $500,000 to local food banks and added language thanking that action while still urging broader action to protect families. The council voted to adopt the amended resolution and directed the clerk's office to distribute the resolution to the governor's office.
Separately, Councilmember Minister Jones and Dr. DeAndre Jones sponsored an ordinance to create a Food Commission as an advisory body to the mayor and council. The commission will include one city council member as chair, one food retailer, one person engaged in agriculture, one hunger‑relief representative, three members with lived experience of food insecurity and one city staff member; the council amended membership and selection language to create an eight‑member commission with nominations overseen by a nominating committee. The ordinance establishes duties for the commission including obtaining data, recommending programs to reduce food insecurity, supporting urban agriculture and producing annual reports to the council beginning December 2026.
Council members and public commenters emphasized transportation gaps to food pantries, outreach and the limits of food‑bank relief in the face of a federal lapse. Several residents and service providers spoke in favor of the Food Commission and urged the council to prioritize access, education and partnerships with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The council enacted the Food Commission ordinance on third reading after an amendment clarifying membership and nomination procedures.
