Arkansas rice farmers donate thousands of pounds of food for Rice Month

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at Arkansas Food Bank on Sept. 9, 2025. (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)

By Ainsley Platt, Arkansas Advocate

Rice farmers donated more than 300,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Food Bank, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced during a Tuesday press conference.

The donation is a longstanding tradition, part of National Rice Month. Sanders said the event represents supporting “all Arkansans.” She lauded farmers for making the donations despite tough market conditions that have squeezed commodity farmers.

Arkansans are paying millions more for daily necessities as a result of tariffs placed on imports by the Trump administration, according to a report from Farmers for Free Trade. Farmers could be particularly impacted by these policies because they have input costs for items like tractor parts and fertilizer that could increase even more because of tariffs.

Brian Burton, the CEO of Arkansas Food Bank, said some of the farmers who made donations last year were no longer in business due to the pressures the market has placed on the industry.

“This time that we’re living in, it’s so tumultuous and fraught with uncertainty,” Burton said. “I think about those of you who, even though you’re going through hard times, you don’t forget those who are hungry and are really struggling on the edge of our economy.”

At a rate of nearly 19%, Arkansas has the highest prevalence of food insecurity in the nation, according to a 2024 U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.