HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. — As lawmakers in Washington, D.C. work to reopen the government, communities here in Arkansas have been doing what they can to help those who have been hit hardest by the shutdown.

"Our rural communities we don't really have all of the resources that bigger communities have. We have to be more dependent on one another. We're limited on the amount of food pantries we have," explained Michele Belli, who is a community advocate.

Like communities across the country and around Arkansas, people in Heber Springs have been worried.

Belli explained that a lack of resources, paired with the growing demand, has had food banks in the area struggling to help.

"When I got to one of our local food pantries, I saw a sign on the door that said closed out of food. And I was like, no

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