Rural communities bring rolling hills of food-producing crops to mind for miles and miles on all sides. However, that is not always the case. In fact, many of our nation’s food-producing areas often find themselves in Food Deserts, areas that lack access to affordable, healthy food.
These areas are often overlooked as they are full of hard-working people who are not vocal about the challenges their community face. This does not make their challenges less. When looking at low access the USDA requirement for urban areas is 1 mile to a food seller (grocery store, etc.). When looking at rural areas, that distance expands to 20 miles. That is a significant difference, especially when considering the lack of public transportation and the economic strain of buying fuel to travel that distance.
Looking at the numbers, food insecurity is in over 15% of rural households compared to just over 13% nationally (USDA ERS Report, 2023).
(Rural Health Information Hub, USDA ERS Report, 2023)
Current Work
I am working to develop and finalize funding for a Lively Communities, Thriving People program that I have developed as part of my work in the Community Engagement Academy. It is focused on creating systemic changes in the food landscape and regional partnerships that improve food access for Hancock County, TN. The goal is to create a tool kit for interventions across rural communities.
I am also using my platform as a Graduate Researcher Assistant at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, working in partnership with our county extension agents to increase awareness of these challenges. I also am part of the Tennessee Nutrition Security Cluster and work to increase awareness at the state level of challenges in rural nutrition security. Additionally, I am a part of the University of Tennessee’s Community Engagement Academy I have been able to discuss and inform University Leadership about Rural Health and Food Access. Finally, as a finalist in the University of Tennessee’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition, I am able to share my work and advocate for support going to these communities.
Resources to explore to learn more about this topic:
https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/food-and-hunger
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/
Also, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about this topic, or if you would like to get involved. I would love to talk to you about this topic that I am passionate about!
