Older adults in the deep south are living with high food insecurity rates; this is exacerbated by challenges with rural-living, like transportation limitations and no grocery stores. To address this, we must increase emergency food assistance offerings and adopt best practices for food pantries including choice food pantry approaches, which empowers clients with some autonomy in choosing the foods they receive as part of their pantry distribution. Coalitions in eight income-limited, aging, rural Mississippi Delta counties received support from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Grant to enhance the food-related infrastructure in their communities through technical assistance and economic investments. A detailed process evaluation was conducted on this effort. Each coalition adopted food pantry-related policies like adding new food pantries and adapting their existing food pantries with the choice model. Both aging volunteers and clients indicated positive outcomes from the process of adding pantries and adapting existing ones.
Older adults in rural areas are at unique risk for poor outcomes due to social isolation and limited access to resources. The Mississippi High Obesity Program (HOP) aims to enhance access to social connections and resources like community gardens, food pantries, and physical activity as part of its broader objective to prevent and reduce obesity. Through policy, systems and environment strategies, development of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between aforementioned entities, and community based participatory research approaches, Mississippi HOP efforts enhance food systems improvement efforts; grow multi-sectoral collaboration; and evaluate the effectiveness of new policies, and specifically MOUs, in reaching these goals. Older adults represent more than 40% (n=27) of all coalition members and stakeholder leaders (n=61); they are essential for the success of these initiatives. This presentation will highlight the work done during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of and benefits to older adults, especially ones in rural communities.
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