Search

This exploratory study examines how a community experiencing food insecurity while navigating multiple crises can be a model to inform resources, processes, and systems supporting communities facing similar circumstances. Data for this study were collected from residents of a community in Oconee County, a rural county in the northwest corner of South Carolina experiencing pervasive food insecurity. The community was severely impacted by the onset of COVID-19 and further devastated by a tornado in mid-April. The area of the county that sustained the greatest damage from the tornado was the Utica Mill Hill community, home to the county's most vulnerable population. This cascading series of events constituted a crisis-within-a-crisis for the community. In this study, we sought to learn more about community members' experiences and the effects of the crises on community members' access to food. We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 residents living in the Utica Mill Hill community. The results provided insight into community members' experiences of the crises and the nature of community-level response and recovery efforts. We learned about participants' experiences with food insecurity, new food policy developments, and gained unexpected insight into community members' experiences with mental health challenges related to the crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the summer months food insecurity increases for some children because many youth who receive meals during the academic year do not receive meals during the summer. Federal summer feeding program data suggest that recreation providers play a role in addressing summertime food insecurity, but few targeted studies have been conducted. This study assessed South Carolina recreation provider participation in programs addressing summertime food insecurity as well as challenges associated with summer feeding program implementation. Data were collected from 58 South Carolina recreation providers (i.e., summer camps and parks and recreation agencies) via an online questionnaire. Provider-reported quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data were analyzed. Findings were visualized using concept mapping and ArcGIS Pro mapping. Twenty-three of the 58 (39.6%) responding organizations participated in a summer feeding program. Transportation of youth to a feeding site was the most salient challenge. Spatial analyses suggest that communities with the greatest economic needs are underserved by recreation providers in this study sample. Recreation providers are important community-based intermediaries between federal, state, and local food suppliers and youth/families in need, with food distribution via recreation providers occurring through diverse youth program mechanisms (i.e., camp sessions, parks, recreation centers, and after school program sites). However, more recreation providers can be engaged as summer feeding sponsors or sites. Future research examining summertime food insecurity following the onset of COVID-19 as well as the ways in which summer feeding program recipients are engaging with recreation providers is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]