Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Food security and nutrition

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
view details
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
view details
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.
view details
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
view details
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
view details
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.
view details
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
view details
Expanding Programmatic Reach Through Freeze and Thaw Meal Programs
Presents the strategy of St. Mary's Food Bank in Northern Arizona to serve summer and afterschool meals in a rural area covering a large geographic portion of the state. Discusses distribution methods, procurement and menu planning, transportation, staff training, and day-to-day operations.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
view details
Results of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service-Administered School Food Authority Survey II on Supply Chain Disruption and Student Participation
Provides 2022-2023 survey data on how supply chain disruptions have impacted school meal operations. Discusses common supply chain challenges, vendor participation issues, changes in food and labor costs, student participation in school meal programs, and more. Includes regional as well as rural versus non-rural snapshots of the survey data.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
view details
State Differences in Recommended Components of Care Received During Postpartum Visits for Rural and Urban Residents, 2016-2019
Policy brief measuring state-level differences in receipt of recommended postpartum care components for urban and rural residents, using data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Features statistics on the median number of postpartum care components with breakdowns by state and rurality, and state-level maps with shadings showing frequency of screening for depression, smoking, abuse, and counseling for contraception, eating and exercise, and birth spacing.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Phoebe Chastain, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details