We were in Little Rock last week for the annual Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance  Serving Up Solutions dinner at the Governor’s mansion.   Arkansas First Lady, Ginger Beebe, along with members of the Arkansas Legislature Hunger Caucus served as waiters for the dinner.  It’s a great event, which brings together folks involved in hunger relief, politics, business, and community leadership.  It raises needed money for the great work of the Alliance, but most important, it raises awareness of the issue of hunger among people in a position to do something about it.

Just over a year ago, a number of partners in the state of Arkansas, under the leadership of Governor Mike Beebe, joined forces to make Arkansas an early adopter in the  Share Our Strength  No Kid Hungry movement, with a goal of eliminating child hunger by 2015.   When the project started in our state, Arkansas had the worst rate of childhood food insecurity of any state in the union.    It’s a testament to effective strategic collaboration that in one year, the state has moved from the bottom of the list, ahead of eight other states. That’s something to celebrate, if only for a short while.  Progress is being made, but there’s still a long way to go.

Hats off to everyone who’s been working hard in Arkansas to make certain no kid goes hungry.   We’ll see you at the finish line.