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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Food security and nutrition

Teacher and Caregiver Perspectives on Water Is K'é: An Early Child Education Program to Promote Healthy Beverages among Navajo Children
Presents a study exploring the efficacy of the Water is K'é pilot program which is designed to increase water consumption among young children in the Navajo Nation. Evaluation draws on the perspective of teachers and caregivers who were interviewed about their children's water consumption.
Author(s): Carmella B. Kahn, Brianna John, Sonya S. Shin, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(17), 6696
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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DRCHSD Spotlight: Urgent & Primary Care of Clarksdale in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Discusses how Urgent and Primary Care of Clarksdale in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and community partners constructed a community garden to improve patient and community access to healthy food. Describes how clinic staff used Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program resources to increase access to care through telehealth, including using technology to provide healthcare services to people incarcerated at the Coahoma County Detention Facility.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Sociodemographic Differences in COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences Among Families in the United States
Examines challenges experienced by individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic according to sociodemographic differences. Analyzes survey data focused on children and caregivers and their experiences with infection and testing, healthcare, school, access to food, child care and work, financial concerns, and more. Data is broken down by demographic variables such as caregiver education, age of children, and rural versus urban location.
Author(s): Kaja Z. LeWinn, Leonardo Trasande, Andrew Law, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Summer Food Service Program Integrity Study
Examines how state agencies and sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) administer programs, maintain oversight and integrity, identify challenges, and provide resources and training. Utilizes 2021 data from state SFSP agencies to analyze SFSP staffing, funding, and outreach; eligibility of sites; program training, technical assistance, and resources; meal counting and claiming; the monitoring of operations and turnover; and impact of COVID-19 on SFSP integrity. Includes data on rural versus urban SFSP experiences.
Additional links: Summary
Author(s): Lindsay Giesen, Alice Ann Gola, Maeve Gearing, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Impact Extra Episode - Rural Health on Life Support Emergency Rural Health Care Grants
Podcast episode featuring Farah Ahmad, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Discusses how USDA Rural Development (RD) invests in rural communities, including improving access to healthy foods in rural communities. Provides an overview of the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program, which helped increase access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, rural healthcare and telehealth services, and food assistance.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Changes in Policy Supports for Healthy Food Retailers, Farmers Markets, and Breastfeeding Among US Municipalities, 2014–2021: National Survey of Community-Based Policy and Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating and Active Living (CBS-HEAL)
Examines policies that support healthy food access and breastfeeding, such as tax incentives for food vendors, streamlined processes for farmers markets, breaktime for workers who pump breast milk, and more. Tracks data changes between 2014 and 2021 to examine policies in US municipalities according to rural-urban status, Census region, educational attainment, poverty, and race/ethnicity.
Author(s): Stephen J. Onufrak, Latetia V. Moore, Samantha L. Pierce, Carol A. MacGowan, Deborah A. Galuska
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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GusNIP Efforts Impacting Rural Communities – and Economies
Discusses the impacts of the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), a food program that helps people access fresh fruits and vegetables. Focuses on resident and community experiences with the program in rural West Virginia.
Author(s): Matt Browning
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
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Summer Food for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid
Provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Highlights changes to the SFSP made in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, including the permanent authorization of the nationwide Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) Program for Children, and allowing Seamless Summer Option (SSO) sponsors to provide meals for off-site consumption to children in rural areas without access to congregate meal sites.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Food for Thought - Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity: Episode 2
Podcast episode discussing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research on food insecurity in rural areas. Describes the prevalence of food insecure households, behavioral responses to food insecurity, and how USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) research and data can inform policy and community-driven solutions.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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Meals on Wheels and Rural Communities, with Carter Florence and Shon Gress
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Carter Florence, DrPH, MPH, Vice President of Programs with Meals on Wheels America, and Shon Gress, CEO and Executive Director of Meals on Wheels Guernsey County. Focuses on the benefits of the program, the impact of braided funding, and how rural stakeholders can get involved.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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