They praise the farmer but starve the program: why not feed our kids Arkansas-grown food?

Here’s a simple question: What would happen if we fed our kids food grown right here in Arkansas?

Not food trucked in from thousands of miles away. Not ultra-processed foods made in factories three states over. I’m talking about real food—sweet potatoes, rice, squash, greens—grown by Delta farmers and served in school cafeterias across the state.

I’ll tell you what would happen: We’d nourish our kids and rebuild our rural economies at the same time.

Our kids would eat better.

We already know that when kids eat fresh, nutrient-dense meals, their academic performance improves. Their behavior improves. Their health outcomes improve. And there’s pride in eating something that came from your town, from someone you know.

Our farmers would gain new markets.

Right now, Arkansas farmers often have to ship crops out of state or abroad to make a living—because there’s no local processing, no institutional buyers, no infrastructure that keeps the food loop regional.

If schools, hospitals, and public institutions committed to sourcing just a fraction of their food from local growers, it would create stable, high-volume markets.

Our schools would become hubs of community health.

Imagine school gardens connected to local farms. Imagine classroom lessons that connect soil science, nutrition, and food systems. Local food isn’t just a nutrition strategy. It’s an education strategy. It’s a community resilience strategy.

So why aren’t we doing it?

Because the same leaders who show up for the ribbon cuttings and tractor parades are the ones slashing the budgets that fund Farm to School programs, public nutrition services, and rural food procurement.

They love to say they’re “pro-farmer” and “pro-child”—but when it comes time to vote, they’re more interested in protecting the status quo than investing in real rural solutions. They’ll praise “local control” while undermining every policy that would make local food systems viable.

We’re not fooled.

Programs like Farm to School work. But they need funding, political will, and leaders who actually show up for rural families, not just corporate donors and culture war clicks.