March 17: Giving of the green for Arkansas 4-H

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

FERNDALE, Ark. — Arkansas 4-H, the state’s largest youth program, could use your help on March 17, a day when people are thinking about all things green.

“Green is our color,” said John Thomas, managing director of the Arkansas 4-H Foundation. “Having March 17 as our fourth annual ‘giving of the green day’ seemed to be a great reminder that we need your support.

“Each year, Arkansas 4-H distributes more than $150,000 in college and activity scholarships,” he said. “You can be sure your donation goes to a good cause. Please support us.”

Thomas said donations can be made online, or donors may text AR4H to 44321. He notes that when texting, donors will be asked to give a $44 default gift or donate a custom amount.

Arkansas 4-H members can attest to the personal growth opportunities the organization offers. There are some 130,000 youth involved with 4-H in Arkansas.

Arkansas 4-H awwards some $150K in scholarships each year.

“My experiences taught me a lot about seeing the whole picture and really understanding other perspectives,” said Jack Berryhill, a past Arkansas 4-H president. 4-H “gave me great insight into how others think and feel and how things affect them. That gave me understanding and compassion for wanting to work with others”

Diamond Jones, the current Arkansas 4-H president, said, “If you want a group of people who believe in you, who back you up, and who offer to teach you, I say join Arkansas 4-H. It’s definitely left a huge impact on the way I socialize with others, and I’ve learned so many skills that I wouldn’t have before."

Learn more about the Arkansas 4-H Foundation at arkansas4hfoundation.org.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Arkansas rice industry donates 240,000 pounds to Arkansas Foodbank

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas rice industry donated 240,000 pounds of rice to the Arkansas Foodbank in honor of National Rice Month on Wednesday (Sept. 20). The donation from ten mills will provide nearly 1.8 million servings of rice to help feed families, children, and seniors across the state.

Participating rice mills are Anheuser Busch of Jonesboro, Arkansas River Rice of Pine Bluff, Isbell Farms of Humnoke, Poinsett Rice & Grain of Jonesboro, Producers Rice Mill of Stuttgart, Ralston Family Farms of Atkins, Riceland Foods, Inc. of Stuttgart, Riviana Foods of Carlisle, Specialty Rice, Inc. of Brinkley, and Windmill Rice Co. of Jonesboro.

“Arkansas rice farmers grow over 50% of the nation’s total crop and will produce rice on 1.4 million acres this year in over 40 counties, all of which are served by the food banks of Arkansas,” said Arkansas Rice Executive Director Kelly Robbins. “As rice harvest continues, our growers, try to be good stewards by giving a portion of their crop to hunger relief efforts in our state.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/09/arkansas-rice-industry-donates-240000-pounds-to-arkansas-foodbank/