Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Food security and nutrition

Rural School Districts Less Likely to Serve Local Food Frequently in School Meals
Bar chart comparing suburban, town, and rural school districts to city school districts, regarding how likely they were to serve local food daily during the 2011-2012 school year.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Low-Income Areas With Low Supermarket Access Increased in Urban Areas, But Not in Rural Areas, Between 2010 and 2015
Reports on changes in the number of low-income and low-access (LILA) census tracts between 2010 and 2015 for rural and urban areas. Briefly describes changes to the low-access or low-income aspect for rural census tracts that became LILA tracts in 2015.
Author(s): Alana Rhone
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Food Insecurity and Chronic Diseases Among American Indians in Rural Oklahoma: The THRIVE Study
Details a study on food security and cardiovascular disease in American Indians in Oklahoma. Bases conclusions on survey data from 513 AI adults from 2 tribal nations completed between April and May of 2015. Breaks down data by age, gender, and education, as well as rates of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Author(s): Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, Marianna S. Wetherill, Jordan Hearod
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(3), 441-446
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
view details
Thinking "Bigger" About Smaller Places: Why Rural Health Planning is Critical to Successful Rural Collective Impact Approaches
Video of a speech by the president and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute. Presented as part of the Rural Health Lecture Series at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina and co-sponsored by the South Carolina Office of Rural Health. Explores how rural health is affected by social determinants of health, such as availability of safe housing, employment opportunities, and healthy food.
Author(s): Charles W. Fluharty
Date: 03/2017
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, South Carolina Office of Rural Health
view details
Daily Access to Local Foods for School Meals: Key Drivers
Report on the progress of farm-to-school programs as a way to improve access to local foods for daily meals. Includes examples of successful programs, a discussion of the influence of school location, size, farmers markets, and state policies as impacts on that success, and variation by regional districts.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Katherine Ralston, Elizabeth Beaulieu, Jeffrey Hyman, Matthew Benson, Michael Smith
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Who Experiences Very Low Food Security?
Bar chart showing characteristics of households experiencing very low food security, which may include cutting back on or skipping meals or going a whole day without eating. Includes data comparing city, suburban, and nonmetropolitan areas. Based on 2015 Current Population Survey data.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Bringing Produce to the People: Implementing a Social Marketing Food Access Intervention in Rural Food Deserts
Evaluates the implementation of a mobile farmer's market in California that was intended to increase access to fresh produce in a rural area. Discusses the program, evaluation methods used, and lessons learned.
Author(s): A. Susana Ramirez, Lillian K. Diaz Rios, Zulema Valdez, Erendira Estrada, Ariana Ruiz
Citation: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 49(2), 166-174
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
view details
Hunger in Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for the Aging Services Network
Report details the state of food security in older adults throughout the nation. Examines some of the negative health outcomes caused or worsened by malnutrition at an advanced age. Discusses some of the barriers that inhibit many elderly people from accessing food, such as immobility, lack of transportation, and poverty, among others.
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Meals on Wheels America
view details
Low-Income and Low-Supermarket-Access Census Tracts, 2010-2015
A brief that discusses regions of the country with low-income and limited access to supermarkets and how they demonstrate the connection between poverty and access to healthy food. Includes a comparison of urban and rural locations as connected to low-income and low-access tracts.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): Alana Rhone, Michele Ver Ploeg, Chris Dicken, Ryan Williams, Vince Breneman
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
view details
Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Impacts
Highlights programs in 6 rural counties to improve the health and well-being of children and families supported by the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative. Programs included the expansion of the early childhood care and education program, promotion of physical activity through the development of walking and biking routes, and improved accessibility to local foods and support for the local economy.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Luther College, Northeast Iowa Community College
view details