Arkansas Foodbank Announces Community Resource Center
For more than a year, Delta Magic has sat at the table with the Arkansas Foodbank as they planned something the state of Arkansas hasn't seen before. Today, we're proud to help share the news: Arkansas Foodbank is bringing a Community Resource Center to downtown Helena, and it's slated to open in Fall 2027.
More Than a Food Bank
The Community Resource Center is not just a food bank. In addition to the food pantry and distributions, the first ever Community Resource Center will be home to two retail spaces occupied by locally owned businesses, wrap around services such as legal and workforce services, and a potential larger employer that is still in the processed of being negotiated. Even with all of that, there is even more space that could potentially host a community garden, playground, and even potentially a food processing center where local growers can process their harvest for commercial sale.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about the food pantry. Even the concept of the food pantry experience is being redesigned to be better for the community. This food pantry is designed to feel more like a grocery store. Sherri Jones, Arkansas Foodbank’s Chief Programs Officer says,
“At the heart of the center is a healthy choice pantry, where families can select the foods that best meet their needs, just as they would in a grocery store. This model honors individual preferences, reduces waste, and creates a more welcoming experience. We are also proud to partner with nearly 20 community organizations to bring supportive services under one roof, making it easier for neighbors to access the resources they need to improve their health, stability, and overall well-being. Our vision is for this Community Resource Center to be a place where people feel seen, respected, connected, and supported on their path to thriving."
The full slate of wrap-around service providers is still being finalized, but the intent is clear: connect people to the resources that actually move them forward, not just the resources that keep them fed for another week.
Bringing New Retail to a Landmark Building
The Community Resource Center will be housed in the old West Horner car dealership, and the building's history is part of what makes this project special. The showroom floor, where Helena once shopped for its cars, will become two retail spaces reserved for locally owned businesses. Those businesses haven’t been chosen yet, but they will have more than 1000 sq feet of retail space at their disposal. It's a second life for a building that's meant something to this community for generations, and it's more local commerce landing in a downtown that's been fighting hard to bring commerce back.
Workforce Development and Room to Grow
Beyond food access and retail, the Center is planned to include workforce development opportunities, connecting Delta residents to pathways toward employment. Arkansas Foodbank is also exploring space for a community garden, a farmers market, and potentially even a playground, which would turn the site into something the community doesn't currently have: a single place that feeds families, grows local food knowledge, supports small business, and gives kids somewhere to play.
Why Helena, Why Now
The need behind this project is urgent. The USDA defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” Arkansas is currently the most food insecure state in the country, continuing a trend that has only gotten worse over the last few years. Feeding America estimates that about 25% of Phillips County residents overall, and 41% of children, are food insecure, which makes Phillips the 8th most food insecure county in the country for children. A project of this scale, built in this place, is a direct response to that reality, and a statement that the Delta deserves the same investment in food access as anywhere else in the state.
Built By Listening
What stands out most about this project isn't the building or the budget, it's the process. Before drawing up plans, Arkansas Foodbank met with community members and local leaders across Helena-West Helena to understand what this community actually wants and needs. That kind of groundwork takes time, and it shows. This isn't a program designed in Little Rock and dropped into the Delta. It's a program shaped by the people who will use it. “We believe the people who live and work in this community should have a voice in shaping decisions that affect them, and that commitment has guided the development of this Community Resource Center”, says Jones.
Delta Magic's Role
Delta Magic has been proud to partner with Arkansas Food Bank on this project since planning began more than a year ago. We’ve had the privilege of pointing them to existing community organizations and leaders who are already champions of public health and food access, so that they can ensure that the CRC is intentionally designed with the community it intends to serve. It's exactly the kind of investment we believe in: rooted in what this community already has to offer, built with local voices at the table, and aimed at long-term capacity rather than a short-term fix.
Fall 2027 is the target opening. We'll keep sharing updates as the wrap-around service partners are confirmed and as the project moves from planning into construction. If you are interested in putting your business in one of the two retail locations, or you want more information, you can reach out to Sherri Jones, the Chief Programs Officer, at [email protected].