Little Rock restaurant hopes to tackle food insecurity

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A fairly new restaurant in Little Rock is hoping what’s inside their kitchen helps tackle the problem of food insecurity.

Last year, a federal study was released that showed Arkansas led in food insecurity compared to any other state.

Since then, a city ordinance has been passed to create a food commission and groups have come together to try to combat the issue.

Elnora Wesley, owner of HOME vegan restaurant on Martin Luther King Drive, said she wants to be a solution to a big problem.

“We’re bringing vegan-based plant-based options to an area that doesn’t have it,” Wesley said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes a food desert as an area with poor access to healthy food choices due to the distance to the nearest grocery store.

“You have bodegas and corner stores but a lot of things they sell are full of sugar and additives,” Wesley said.

Feeding America found in 2020 the food-insecure population in Pulaski County included more than 57,000 people.

Wesley said she knows the impact food insecurity can have on families.

“High blood pressure and diabetes that plagues so many people, even my mom. I’m a sole caregiver for my mom and diabetes is what got her. I couldn’t change her eating habits,” Wesley said.

She said she is hoping to make a change one bite at a time.

“We can change our health, our quality of life just by the food we eat,” Wesley said.

Wesley said the restaurant is just the beginning.

“We plan to be mobile in the future to get to the people who need it the most and have products in store so people can prepare this food at home,” Wesley said.

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