Finding Food: Characterizing Food Coping Strategies Among Food Pantry Clients In The High Country

Though starvation seldom occurs in the United States, many individuals do suffer from food insecurity, which exists when access to adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain, or when such food cannot be accessed in socially acceptable ways (Ramaduria, Sharf, & Sharkey, 2012). Previous research has identified that food insecurity is exacerbated for rural residents, as they are 12–15% more likely to be food insecure (Ramaduria, Sharf, & Sharkey, 2012). To combat the hardships caused by food insecurity, individuals may turn to a multitude of practices or behaviors to maintain an adequate food supply for themselves and their households, also known as food coping strategies. This research is necessary due to the gaps in the literature that do not address rural food coping strategies, and the fact that food insecurity is a major public health concern. In 2010, 86% of all health care spending was being used for people with one or more chronic medical conditions, with obesity alone costing the United States 147 billion dollars in 2008 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Interventions are needed to address food access, insecurity, and coping strategies among low-income populations to help relieve these problems.