The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank (NWAFB) has received a $4 million grant from the Walmart Foundation in support of the expansion of facilities and services at its Lowell, Arkansas, relief center, KNWA-TV reports.

The gift to the “Food For Today. Hope For Tomorrow” campaign is the largest in the food bank’s history and will be used to help build the volunteer center—to be named after the foundation—at a new 82,000-square-foot operations and training facility, which will distribute millions of pounds of food annually when completed, and include the volunteer center as well as a teaching kitchen and garden, a community room, and expanded office space. In addition, the grant will provide three years of start-up costs for new and expanded programs to improve access to fresh, healthy foods, and wraparound services through a mix of client-choice distribution methods.

In response to the increasing need for hunger relief, driven by a growing Northwest Arkansas population and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, NWAFB plans to expand capacity, introduce new programs, and increase nutritious food distribution by more than 60 percent by 2025.

“Walmart has been a driving force behind our efforts to nourish, feed, and lead our community,” said NWAFB president and CEO Kent Eikenberry. “This gift is a true testament to [Walmart’s] commitment to addressing food insecurity and improving communities where they do business.”

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