Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food – Models and Innovations

These stories feature model programs and successful rural projects that can serve as a source of ideas and provide lessons others have learned. Some of the projects or programs may no longer be active. Read about the criteria and evidence-base for programs included.

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.

Youth4Health

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

Vermont Food Access in Health Care (FAHC) Consortium

Added March 2024

• Need: To integrate healthcare with access to nutritious food in rural Vermont.
• Intervention: The Bi-State Primary Care Association and three FQHCs created food programs: Medically Tailored Meals, Produce Prescriptions, and Social Grocery Store.
• Results: These programs screen people for food insecurity, distribute food, offer health education sessions, and help people complete applications for other food programs.

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.

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.

The Hunger Coalition's Bloom Truck and Bloom Markets

Added July 2023

• Need: To improve access to healthy, affordable food for low-income families and children in Blaine County, Idaho in a stigma-free way.
• Intervention: A truck that delivers free, healthy meals to kids in local neighborhoods and a farm stand selling fresh produce at heavily discounted rates.
• Results: The Bloom Truck delivers meals to between 250 and 400 children each summer, with 1,599 meals served in June of 2023.

Wisconsin Tribal Elder Food Box Program

Added June 2023

• Need: To address food insecurity and limited access to healthy foods among Indigenous elders living in tribal nations in Wisconsin.
• Intervention: The Tribal Elder Food Box Program distributes biweekly boxes filled with culturally relevant, locally-sourced meat, produce, and shelf-stable foods to elders in all 11 federally recognized tribal nations in Wisconsin – 10 of which are located in rural areas.
• Results: In 2022, the program distributed 24,400 boxes and purchased a majority of food products from Indigenous producers and growers.

South Dakota Harvest of the Month Program

Updated/reviewed May 2023

• Need: To encourage children to make healthy eating choices through learning and tasting.
• Intervention: Brief, fun, and informative presentations and tastings for children on over 42 different fruits and vegetables.
• Results: Participants are exposed to new foods and show more interest in healthy eating.

Lunch Express Summer Food Program

Updated/reviewed April 2021

• Need: With school lunch programs inactive during summer months, rural children in Northeast Tennessee experienced food insecurity.
• Intervention: Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee used repurposed school buses to expand meal delivery to rural children in remote areas of eight counties.
• Results: During summer months, four converted school buses bring meals to nearly 350 children, traveling 11,000 miles in rural and remote areas. In toto, the organization reaches nearly 6,000 school children with food insecurity.