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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Project Examples: Food security and nutrition

Effective Examples

Hidalgo Medical Services – Family Support Program

Updated/reviewed April 2023

  • Need: To reduce health disparities in two rural/frontier counties in southwest New Mexico.
  • Intervention: Community health workers worked with clients to help them better manage their health and promote awareness of healthy lifestyle options in the community.
  • Results: Better health outcomes for patients.

Promising Examples

ALProHealth

Updated/reviewed March 2023

  • Need: To improve access to healthy food and physical activity in rural Alabama.
  • Intervention: Researchers hold focus groups with community members to identify issues of the most concern and then help them implement appropriate interventions like installing playground equipment.
  • Results: From 2014 to 2018, 14 coalitions implemented 101 interventions in 16 communities.

Healthy Early Learning Project (HELP)

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed August 2022

  • Need: An ongoing health need to alleviate early childhood obesity in the rural Kansas counties of Marshall and Nemaha.
  • Intervention: 5 distinct physical and nutritional programs were introduced to 9 preschool sites through the overarching Healthy Early Learning Project (HELP).
  • Results: HELP comprehensively increased children's physical activity and healthy food consumption and established a sustainable presence at each preschool site.

Youth4Health

funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Updated/reviewed December 2019

  • Need: To educate youth about obesity and healthy lifestyle choices.
  • Intervention: An educational program about healthy living was implemented in Lincoln and Claiborne Parishes in Louisiana for youth ages 9-18.
  • Results: Youth4Health program produced greater awareness and participation in healthier lifestyles by target youth and their families, as well as church congregations.

Other Project Examples

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties (HCC)

Updated/reviewed January 2024

  • Need: To increase access to healthy foods in two rural Nevada counties.
  • Intervention: HCC and the Rural Health and Nutrition Initiative (RHNI) run food pantries, assist with community and school gardens, and have a farmers market during the summer.
  • Results: The three food pantries together serve about 3,600 people and distribute over 100,000 pounds of food each month.

Mother's Milk Bank of South Carolina

Updated/reviewed January 2024

  • Need: Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across the state of South Carolina were purchasing breast milk from out-of-state milk banks for preterm infants.
  • Intervention: The Mother's Milk Bank of South Carolina (MMBSC) opened 26 sites in South Carolina for breast milk to be donated, safely pasteurized, and delivered to NICUs across the state.
  • Results: Over 19,178,739 ounces of milk have been donated to MMBSC depot sites and over 13,830,600 ounces of milk have been delivered to South Carolina NICUs.

The Possibility Shop

Updated/reviewed January 2024

  • Need: To connect vulnerable populations in Allegany County, Maryland, to health and human services and to items like hygiene products, food, and clothing.
  • Intervention: The Possibility Shop partners with health organizations, insurance navigators, food banks, and other agencies.
  • Results: In 2023, 8,684 service encounters occurred and 501 intakes to services were performed.

Healthy Monadnock Alliance

Updated/reviewed September 2023

  • Need: Improved health outcomes for Monadnock Region, a rural area of New Hampshire.
  • Intervention: A wide-scale effort across multiple sectors is aiming to improve health outcomes throughout the region.
  • Results: Community health trends have been tracked over time, and progress on goals such as increasing the number of residents with healthcare coverage, opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy foods, and smoking cessation has been made.

Lakewood Engage Food Access Initiatives

Updated/reviewed August 2023

  • Need: Lakewood, Minnesota is classified as a food desert, where many rural families face food insecurity and low availability of both nutritious and affordable provisions.
  • Intervention: A collection of programs address food insecurity and the dietary health of members of the community, from children and families to older adults, supplying them with locally-sourced fruits, vegetables, and meat.
  • Results: Lakewood Engage conducts around 40,000 food insecurity screenings each year. Fresh produce, meat, and other goods are distributed to roughly 140 families (around 500 individuals), 200 seniors, and 75 school-aged children annually.

Jefferson Healthcare Prescription CSA

Added July 2023

  • Need: To increase food security among low-income patients living with cancer and diabetes in rural Jefferson County, Washington.
  • Intervention: A local healthcare system partnered with a small organic farm to offer weekly produce boxes to eligible low-income patients.
  • Results: 10 patients participated in the Jefferson Healthcare prescription CSA program in 2022. In 2023, the program grew to serve 15 patients.