Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food.

Map the Meal Gap 2024: A Report on County and Congressional District Food Insecurity and County Food Cost in the United States in 2022
Provides information on food insecurity in the United States, focusing on how race and ethnicity impact access to food. Includes county-level U.S. maps that show food insecurity for children and the overall U.S. population. Includes regional data on counties with high food insecurity as well as by rural versus urban status.
Additional links: Technical Appendix
Author(s): M. Hake, A. Dewey, E. Engelhard, S. Dawes
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Feeding America
view details
Addressing Food Insecurity in Rural Primary Care: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Barriers and Facilitators
Examines food insecurity (FI) in rural areas and the barriers and facilitators to identifying FI during primary care visits. Provides interview feedback from rural New England primary care practitioners, focused on factors that impact screening for FI and potential interventions to address patient FI. Discusses difficulty of addressing FI in rural geographies, stigma in rural communities, and food resource options from local farms.
Author(s): Kayla E. Jordanova, Arvind Suresh, Chelsey R. Canavan, et al.
Citation: BMC Primary Care, 25, 163
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
view details
Unlocking Access: Implementing Home Delivered Meals to Expand Summer Meal Access for Rural Families
A recorded webinar that discusses utilizing home delivery to provide food access to families during the summer months. Includes examples from organizations who successfully implemented a food home delivery strategy. Transcript available below description.
Author(s): Allison Dela Cuesta, Kristen Collins, Madeline Ghanem, Donna Riviello
Date: 04/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details
An Evaluation of ¡Haz Espacio Para Papi!, a Culturally Tailored Nutrition and Physical Activity Pilot Program for Mexican-Heritage Fathers
Describes outcomes of ¡Haz Espacio Para Papi! (HEPP), a nutrition and physical activity intervention for Latino fathers in colonias near the Texas-Mexico border. Provides data on changes in participants' fruit and vegetable intake, skin carotenoids, and healthy dietary behaviors. Discusses approaches to cultural appropriateness and collaboration with promotoras.
Author(s): Annika Vahk, Pablo Monsivais, Cassandra M. Johnson, Joseph R. Sharkey
Citation: Nutrients, 16(8), 1153
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
view details
Child Nutrition Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, July 2020 through December 2021 School Meals Operations Study, Year 2 Report (Final)
Describes trends in Child Nutrition (CN) Program program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, from July 2020 through December 2021. Builds on a previous report that presents data on the number of meals served, operational and financial challenges of state agencies and local program operators, and the use of COVID-19 Child Nutrition nationwide waivers.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Liana Washburn, Veronica Severn, Brett Eiffes, et al.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Breakfast Tips & Strategies for Fueling Success in Rural Districts
A recorded webinar featuring school nutrition staff who have implemented breakfast programs in rural school districts. Discusses strategies for implementation and overcoming challenges. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Author(s): Kelly Earnhardt, Nikki Hawthorne, Heidi Miles
Date: 04/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details
Household Food Insecurity Across Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21
Provides sociodemographic data on household food insecurity in the United States from 2016 to 2021. Includes data breakdowns according to race/ethnicity, household composition, poverty, employment status, education level, geographic region, metro versus nonmetro location, and more.
Author(s): Laura J. Hales, Alisha Coleman-Jensen
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
How Community-Based Organizations Expand Access to Summer Meals through Non-Congregate Feeding
A recorded webinar that discusses how organizations collaborated to provide non-congregate meals in rural areas during the summer months. Includes information on mobile meals, grab-and-go options, bulk distributions, and take-home meals.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details
Schools Bringing Summer Meals to Kids: Learnings & Promising Practices from Non-Congregate Feeding
A recorded webinar that provides case studies from 3 school districts who successfully operated a mobile non-congregate meal program in rural areas during the summer months.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details
Interim Final Rule on Non-Congregate Summer Meals: What It Means for You This Summer
A recorded webinar that discusses the interim final rule (IFR) on non-congregate summer meals in rural areas. Provides information on definitions, eligibility, and allowable models and flexibilities.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details

Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:


Last Updated: 5/15/2024