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Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food.

Household Food Insecurity Across Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2016–21
Provides sociodemographic data on household food insecurity in the United States from 2016 to 2021. Includes data breakdowns according to race/ethnicity, household composition, poverty, employment status, education level, geographic region, metro versus nonmetro location, and more.
Author(s): Laura J. Hales, Alisha Coleman-Jensen
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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How Community-Based Organizations Expand Access to Summer Meals through Non-Congregate Feeding
A recorded webinar that discusses how organizations collaborated to provide non-congregate meals in rural areas during the summer months. Includes information on mobile meals, grab-and-go options, bulk distributions, and take-home meals.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Schools Bringing Summer Meals to Kids: Learnings & Promising Practices from Non-Congregate Feeding
A recorded webinar that provides case studies from 3 school districts who successfully operated a mobile non-congregate meal program in rural areas during the summer months.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Interim Final Rule on Non-Congregate Summer Meals: What It Means for You This Summer
A recorded webinar that discusses the interim final rule (IFR) on non-congregate summer meals in rural areas. Provides information on definitions, eligibility, and allowable models and flexibilities.
Additional links: Slide Deck
Date: 03/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Successful Non-Congregate Meal Service Models for Rural Areas: Implementation Guide (2024 Update)
Provides models that inform implementation of non-congregate meal services in rural areas. Includes background on policy decisions and legislative definitions.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Factors Associated with Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Among Young Children – United States, 2021
Analyzes sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake among children 1-5 years old across sociodemographic and household factors. Provides data on SSB intake according to age, sex, race/ethnicity, maternal age of mother, household income, education level, household language, food security, metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status, and more.
Author(s): Mary Ellen Grap, Heather C. Hamner, Carrie Dooyema, Adi Noiman, Sohyun Park
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Utilizing the USDA's National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey to Calculate a Household-Level Food Environment Measure
Offers the Food Retail Environment Healthfulness Quality measure, a calculation measuring a household's exposure to healthy food retail spaces. Uses the measure to show rural and urban comparisons of distance to healthy food options in addition to demographic analysis.
Author(s): Michele Ver Ploeg, Benjamin Scharadin, Lauren Miller, Jeffrey Gonzalez, Rodney Odom
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Evaluation of the USDA Summer EBT Demonstrations: Lessons Learned From More Than a Decade of Research
Reports results of the Summer EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) demonstration project, 2015-2018 and 2019-2022. Describes Summer EBT use patterns, nutritional value, and effect on childhood food insecurity. Identifies strategies for better program planning, implementation, and administration. Discusses program operation and challenges in tribal organizations and rural communities.
Additional links: 2015-2018 Evaluation, 2019-2022 Evaluation, Summary
Author(s): René Nutter, Ayesha Enver, Maria Boyle, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Rural Non-Congregate Summer Meals in 2023: Insights from the First Year of a New Program
Discusses the implementation of the non-congregate meal program in its first year. Utilizes recorded conversations and surveys to discuss the successes and challenges of summer non-congregate meal programs in rural areas. Includes data on meal types, distribution models, definitions of rural used among program grantees, food insecurity of children and families, and more.
Additional links: Micro-Report for Sponsors, Micro-Report for State Agencies
Author(s): A. Panzera, M. Kirk-Epstein, P. Pokorney, et al.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: No Kid Hungry
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Selected Charts from Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials, 2024
Report highlights the various measures of the rural and agricultural economy. Includes rates of rural versus urban poverty and unemployment, population change in metro and nonmetro areas, and rates of food security in principal cities, suburban, and rural areas.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Last Updated: 4/4/2024