What are the current issues related to food assistance in rural communities?
Research by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. found that food stamp participation remained high in rural communities. Other issues of concern in rural areas include sporadic pay periods that make workers ineligible to receive benefits in some months, cumbersome processes for application and re-certification, lack of knowledge about eligibility, lack of autonomy within the community, and perceived discrimination in treatment by program workers and grocery clerks. Rural communities also experience differences in access to adequate and affordable food supplies. In most rural communities, residents rely more on small supermarkets or “mom and pop” stores, where prices are higher and food choices are more limited than those found in larger supermarkets. As measured and described in the U.S. Food Security Measurement Project, “hunger” is involuntary hunger that results from not being able to afford enough food. People are not counted as “hungry” for statistics if they were hungry only because
