Increasing Access to Foods That Support Healthy Eating Patterns

Many rural areas have limited access to healthy, affordable foods. In these areas, supermarkets or grocery stores are scarce, leading to food deserts where residents rely instead on convenience stores, which typically sell processed, shelf-stable goods, rather than fresh produce. This requires residents to travel longer distances to find healthy food, which is a challenge for those without reliable transportation. The distance to grocery stores and lack of public transit in rural communities highlight the complex links between food access, poverty, and transportation, leading to isolation for those who lack reliable transit.

Food insecurity describes the lack of or limited access to food. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) identifies four levels of food security:

High food security: no indications of food limitations
Marginal food security: some anxiety around food sufficiency
Low food security: reduced quality and desirability of food options, though no reduction in food intake
Very low food security: eating patterns and food intake are disrupted

This model includes several promising approaches to improve access to and promote increased availability and affordability of nutritious foods. These models include:

More information on food access strategies for rural communities is available on the Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Foods Topic Guide.

Two federal programs, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provide money to eligible participants for the purchase of food:

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) is generally called by its acronym SNAP, and sometimes referred to as EBT, which refers to Electronic Benefits Transfer.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is generally referred to as WIC.