A steady job doesn’t guarantee food on the table for many Arkansans They also deal with the financial burden and social stigma of food insecurity

As a Fayetteville food pantry volunteer and someone who supplements trips to the grocery store with local assistance methods, the way Jen Cole experiences the struggle for food access is twofold.

While Cole, 55, forfeits her favorites of fresh mushrooms, pomegranates and herbal teas at the grocery store, she also helps serve people she said she wouldn’t expect to see at the food pantry: nurses and firefighters

“If a car breaks down, if you have an illness — that’s it. You’re in the food pantry line,” Cole said. “But you’re working poor, so you can’t afford to miss your job to get in that line. That’s a huge problem.”