Dec. 12, 2019

2019 Missouri Hunger Atlas Shows Food Security Remains a Critical Issue

The latest edition of the Missouri Hunger Atlas, published by the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, reports the number of Missourians facing food insecurity has dropped to pre-Great Recessions levels. It is estimated that 865,000 Missourians are food insecure, a decline from three years ago when the issue affected 1 million Missourians. Still, access to nutritious food remains critical in many Missouri counties. The Missouri Hunger Atlas 2019 reports nearly one in seven individuals lacked reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food, with the most vulnerable populations including children and the elderly. “Three years ago we…

Oct. 19, 2016

Taking Stock of Missouri Food Pantries

Taking Stock, a series of regional reports published by Grow Well Missouri and the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, provides analysis and discussion to better understand the ways in which the management and operations of food pantries can be enhanced. Based on a survey of 204 food pantry directors, the reports highlight some of the unique needs of food pantries in the areas of planning, communications, facilities, operations, and others. The reports also shed light on areas where food pantries excel. Visit the Taking Stock webpage to find reports from the Harvesters-Community…

Jan. 29, 2015

Healthy Shelves Hits the Shelves

A new publication by the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, Healthy Shelves: Promoting and enhancing good nutrition in food pantries, was released in January 2015. This 24 page booklet offers tips and strategies for linking food pantries and community partners to get healthier food onto the shelves of pantries and into the homes of food pantry customers. With strategies based on more than two years of field work, the guide highlights nutrition improvement activities in the areas of Food Availability and Access, Food Consumption, Food Pantry Capacity and Development, and Food Acquisition and Distribution. Personal stories highlight the innovative…

Nov. 20, 2013

New Report Reviews Healthy Food Access Research

Policy Link and The Food Trust recently released a joint report titled Access to Healthy Food and Why it Matters: A Review of the Research. Drawing on more than 300 studies published between 1990 and 2013, the report highlights the importance of improving access to healthy food for those living in low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and rural areas. In addition to showing that better eating habits and decreased risk of diet-related diseases are associated with living closer to retail outlets that carry healthy foods, the report provides evidence for the positive economic impact of healthy food…

Sep. 30, 2013

Food Bank Conference Brings Allies Together

Looking for ways to engage food banks and anti-hunger allies in a meaningful dialogue about long-term solutions to hunger, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona hosted the inaugural Closing the Hunger Gap conference in Tucson in 2013. Sessions featured innovative organizations that incorporate nutrition education, community organizing, policy, economic development, and local food production into their work. Discussions centered on the root causes of hunger and tangible ways food banks can work together to address the most pressing issues and needs of their clients. The conference concluded with an action planning session to build momentum for ongoing…

Sep. 9, 2013

New Missouri Hunger Atlas Raises Awareness of Extent, Depth of Hunger in Missouri

The Missouri Hunger Atlas 2013, recently released by the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, provides a county-by-county assessment of the extent of food insecurity in the state. The Atlas also measures the work of a host of public and private programs intended to help people struggling with hunger. First issued in 2008, the Missouri Hunger Atlas is now in it’s third edition and features updated county tables and rankings, indicator maps, and trend analyses. A new feature of the 2013 edition is a Food Affordability measure. This measure estimates the percent of income required each week by households to…

July 23, 2013

Food Assistance and the Farm Bill Debate

Amidst the current Farm Bill debate, University of Arkansas Law professor Susan Schneider offers a reasoned assessment of who benefits from federal nutrition programs, the efficiency in which the programs are implemented, and the economic impact of spending food stamp dollars in local communities. The article is featured in the Agricultural Law Blog, the official blog of the Association of American Law Schools section on agricultural and food law.

May 30, 2013

USDA Report: Disability a Risk Factor for Food Insecurity

A recent issue of Amber Waves, from the USDA Economic Research Service, reports on a new study showing that disability is one of the strongest factors affecting a household’s food security status. The report states that in 2009-2010 “one-third of households with a working-age adult who was unable to work due to disability were food insecure,” compared to “12 percent of households that had no working-age adults with disabilities.” Food insecurity is often more severe in households that include adults with disabilities. The full report, Food Insecurity Among Households with Working-Age Adults with Disabilities, is available online.

May 23, 2013

Summer Field Research Begins

The start of summer 2013 marks the third year in which Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security faculty and staff have gone to the field to hear the voices of people using food pantries in central and northeast Missouri. This large research project will gather data from approximately 1200 food pantry clients in 32 counties through in-depth personal interviews. The data will be used to look at a variety of challenges faced by households. The ultimate goals are to help people lead healthy and productive lives and give policy makers, agency professionals, and service providers information to develop and deliver solutions…

April 29, 2013

Can $4 a day provide a nutritious diet?

That is the question posed by the Health Communication Research Center, a partner of the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, as their staff embarked on the Food Stamp Challenge in March. Limiting food expenditures to $28 dollars per week (the average SNAP benefit for a person in Missouri), they set out to learn about the challenges of eating healthy on a food stamp budget and shared their experiences on the their blog. The challenge coincides with National Nutrition Month and the release of the documentary, A Place at the Table. The Health Communication Research Center at the…