LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While hunger rises across the state, one Arkansas nonprofit is working daily to fight it, one rescued meal at a time.
Potluck Food Rescue, a central Arkansas nonprofit that diverts surplus food from landfills to community organizations, has seen a dramatic rise in demand.
The number of organizations requesting food has surged, with 20 new partners reaching out just in the last few weeks alone.
“The last thing people need to worry about is where their next meal is coming from, no one should ever have to worry about that,” said Chris Wyman, executive director of Potluck Food Rescue.
While Potluck doesn’t serve consumers directly, it supplies food to nearly 115 partner organizations that do, including shelters, schools, and community kitchens.
Its mission tackles two problems at once: hunger and food waste. Every day, thousands of pounds of edible food are discarded in Central Arkansas. Potluck steps in before that happens.
“Those numbers are important,” Wyman said. “You know, when we see those—we see people.”
According to Wyman, a mix of inflation, SNAP benefit cuts, and newly imposed tariffs is driving more families into food insecurity and sending more organizations to Potluck’s doorstep for help.
“That’s going to lead to a lot of price spikes at places like our local grocers,” Wyman explained. “What that ends up leading to—and with budget cuts to SNAP as well—is that people simply can’t afford these prices.”
“And you know,” he added, “our paychecks haven’t matched inflation in decades.”
Wyman believes this crisis will only deepen in the coming months as even more food becomes unaffordable, and ultimately, more surplus food is left behind by stores and suppliers. Potluck is preparing to respond.
“We want to be there to take that surplus,” he said. “Because at one point, the shelf life is done for the grocery store, but it’s not done for human consumption. We take that and get it to the people who need it.”
In 2024, Potluck Food Rescue brought in more than 1 million pounds of rescued food—enough to create over 800,000 meals. That effort saved partner organizations more than $2 million in food costs.
“Money they can use toward their programming, rather than food,” Wyman said. “And just imagine what their food costs are now.”
Looking ahead, the team at Potluck knows the road won’t be easy.
“We are small but mighty,” Wyman said with a determined smile.
For more information or to support Potluck Food Rescue’s mission, visit PotluckFoodRescue.org.