Barriers To Food Security As Explained By Community Members In Two Small Appalachian Towns In Rural North Carolina: A Behind-The-Scenes View Through Focus Group Interviews

Objective: The purpose of this study was to broadly describe food insecurity as it relates to rural populations then to identify and explain the barriers for rural community members to accessing adequate, healthy, and desirable foods in an original study. Design: This qualitative study is divided into a literature review and an original study that uses data from three focus groups obtained in a larger, mixed-methods study. Setting: Interviews were conducted by a trained qualitative researcher. This study was accomplished in conjunction between Appalachian State University and two United Methodist Churches (UMCs) in two small towns nestled in rural Appalachia. Subjects: Participants were selected among local community members that either attended or administered the local food pantry or soup kitchen hosted by either of the two UMCs. They ranged in age from young to older adult community members, and their unique viewpoints were made up of both those seeking aid and those delivering it. Results: Multiple barriers to food access and contributors to food insecurity were identified across participants and interviews. Themes included limited availability of homegrown and local foods, the high cost for healthy foods, inadequate food and nutrition resources, trouble navigating the food environment, knowledge gaps, and social stigma, among a few other minor themes. Conclusions: The multiple barriers identified here are characteristic of rural communities and show that much work is to be done to more fully address food insecurity in locations such as these. In addition to political and economic reform, many local solutions are possible using local resources. This study joins many others that illuminate the need for local and environmental solutions to food insecurity in rural areas.