IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/uersfr/266234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community Food Security Programs Improve Food Access

Author

Listed:
  • Kantor, Linda Scott

Abstract

The Federal nutrition assistance safety net represents the first line of defense in boosting the food purchasing power and improving the nutritional status of lowincome households in the United States. In fiscal 2000, USDA spent an estimated $32.5 billion on food assistance programs, over half of its annual budget. Community-based initiatives, such as farmers markets and community gardens, can boost the effectiveness of USDA nutrition assistance and education programs by increasing the availability of high-quality and affordable food in a community. Such initiatives also support rural comunities by strengthening the traditional ties that exist between farmers and urban consumers. Following congressional passage of the Community Food Security Act of 1996, USDA launched the Community Food Security Initiative in February 1999. This nationwide initiative seeks to forge partnerships between USDA and local communities to build local food systems, decrease need, and improve nutrition. Community food security is a relatively new concept with roots in a variety of disciplines, including community nutrition, nutrition education, public health, sustainable agriculture, and community development. As such, community food security has no universally accepted definition. Researchers at Tufts University view community food security as an expansion of the concept of household food security, which focuses on the ability of a household to acquire enough food for an active, healthy life. Community food security focuses on the underlying social, economic, and institutional factors within a community that affect the quantity, quality, and affordability of food. Researchers at Rutgers University see community food security as a process in which community-based programs work in tandem with a strong Federal nutrition safety net and emergency food assistance programs to move people from poverty to self-sufficiency and food security (see box). This article examines a variety of community food security programs, looking at their scope, their limitations, and their successes.

Suggested Citation

  • Kantor, Linda Scott, 2001. "Community Food Security Programs Improve Food Access," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 24(1), January.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersfr:266234
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.266234
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/266234/files/FoodReview-237.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/266234/files/FoodReview-237.pdf?subformat=pdfa
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.266234?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Molly Anderson & John Cook, 1999. "Community food security: Practice in need of theory?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 16(2), pages 141-150, June.
    2. repec:mpr:mprres:2615 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kaufman, Phillip R. & MacDonald, James M. & Lutz, Steve M. & Smallwood, David M., 1997. "Do the Poor Pay More for Food? Item Selection and Price Differences Affect Low-Income Household Food Costs," Agricultural Economic Reports 34065, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Atanasoaie George Sebastian, 2013. "Community Supported Agriculture (Csa)," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 3, pages 11-16, June.
    2. John Taylor & Sarah Lovell, 2014. "Urban home food gardens in the Global North: research traditions and future directions," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 285-305, June.
    3. Bixia Chen & Kazuna Miyagi & Tomoyuki Namihira & Daiki Kayano & Mika Aragaki & Shiori Suzuki, 2024. "What Motivates Urban Dwellers to Engage in Urban Farming?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    4. David Conner & Benjamin King & Jane Kolodinsky & Erin Roche & Christopher Koliba & Amy Trubek, 2012. "You can know your school and feed it too: Vermont farmers’ motivations and distribution practices in direct sales to school food services," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 321-332, September.
    5. Martinez, Stephen W. & Hand, Michael S. & Da Pra, Michelle & Pollack, Susan L. & Ralston, Katherine L. & Smith, Travis A. & Vogel, Stephen J. & Clark, Shellye & Lohr, Luanne & Low, Sarah A. & Newman, , 2010. "Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues," Economic Research Report 96635, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
      • Martinez, Steve & Hand, Michael & Da Pra, Michelle & Pollack, Susan & Ralston, Katherine & Smith, Travis & Vogel, Stephen & Clarke, Shellye & Lohr, Luanne & Low, Sarah & Newman, Constance, 2010. "Local food systems: concepts, impacts, and issues," MPRA Paper 24313, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Sinan Kordon & Patrick A. Miller & Cermetrius L. Bohannon, 2022. "Attitudes and Perceptions of Community Gardens: Making a Place for Them in Our Neighborhoods," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Bonanno, Alessandro & Li, Jing, 2011. "Food Access and Food Security – An Empirical Analysis," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103218, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gibson, John & Kim, Bonggeun, 2013. "Do the urban poor face higher food prices? Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 193-203.
    2. Andrew Rhodes & Jidong Zhou, 2019. "Consumer Search and Retail Market Structure," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 2607-2623, June.
    3. Richard Volpe & Edward C Jaenicke & Lauren Chenarides, 2018. "Store Formats, Market Structure, and Consumers’ Food Shopping Decisions," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 672-694, December.
    4. Rhodes, Andrew, 2011. "Multiproduct pricing and the Diamond Paradox," MPRA Paper 32511, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Brent Hammer & Helen Vallianatos & Candace Nykiforuk & Laura Nieuwendyk, 2015. "Perceptions of healthy eating in four Alberta communities: a photovoice project," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 649-662, December.
    6. Barbara Seed & Tim Lang & Martin Caraher & Aleck Ostry, 2013. "Integrating food security into public health and provincial government departments in British Columbia, Canada," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(3), pages 457-470, September.
    7. Stewart, Hayden & Dong, Diansheng, 2011. "Variation in retail costs for fresh vegetables and salty snacks across communities in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 128-135, April.
    8. Caitlin Knowles Myers & Grace Close & Laurice Fox & John William Meyer & Madeline Niemi, 2011. "Retail Redlining: Are Gasoline Prices Higher In Poor And Minority Neighborhoods?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 795-809, July.
    9. Christian Broda & Ephraim Leibtag & David E. Weinstein, 2009. "The Role of Prices in Measuring the Poor's Living Standards," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(2), pages 77-97, Spring.
    10. Hunt Allcott & Rebecca Diamond & Jean-Pierre Dubé & Jessie Handbury & Ilya Rahkovsky & Molly Schnell, 2019. "Food Deserts and the Causes of Nutritional Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 1793-1844.
    11. Leibtag, Ephraim S., 2006. "The Impact Of Big-Box Stores On Retail Food Prices And The Consumer Price Index," Economic Research Report 7238, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Timothy K. M. Beatty, 2008. "Expenditure dispersion and dietary quality: evidence from Canada," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(9), pages 1001-1014, September.
    13. Pasirayi, Simba & Grebitus, Carola, 2016. "The Consumer Paradox: Why Bottom-Tier Consumers Are Loyal To Brand Names," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236070, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Rachel Meltzer & Jenny Schuetz, 2012. "Bodegas or Bagel Shops? Neighborhood Differences in Retail and Household Services," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 26(1), pages 73-94, February.
    15. Stefan Öberg, 2016. "Did the Poor Pay More? Income-related variations in Diet and Food Quality among Urban Households in Sweden 1913-1914," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 211-248.
    16. Obodai, Jacob & Bhagwat, Shonil & Mohan, Giles, 2024. "The interface of environment and human wellbeing: Exploring the impacts of gold mining on food security in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. King, Christian, 2017. "Informal assistance to urban families and the risk of household food insecurity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 105-113.
    18. Madeleine Fairbairn, 2012. "Framing transformation: the counter-hegemonic potential of food sovereignty in the US context," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(2), pages 217-230, June.
    19. Uche T. Okpara & Ifeoma Q. Anugwa, 2022. "Harms to Community Food Security Resulting from Gender-Based Violence," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Ratnasiri, Shyama & Bandara, Jayatilleke S. & Korale-Gedara, Pradeepa, 2012. "Changing Incomes and Food Prices: The Implications for Rural and Urban Food Security in Sri Lanka," Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics, Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA), vol. 14, pages 1-16.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersfr:266234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.