For families surviving on low-incomes in the US the problem of food insecurity is anything, but simple. The complexity of the interactions between sociological, environmental, economic, and political inequalities make deciphering barriers within the food system a difficult task, but not an impossible one. Extremely effective ways to combat food insecurity which simultaneously chip away at the long standing and powerful system which marginalizes and disenfranchises huge sections of our nation’s population exist. Changing our food system to a more just and equitable one demands building community power at the grassroots level, altering policy to change the day-to-day experiences of low-income American families, and recognizing the deep importance of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration.

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How Can Community Leaders Help Low-Income American Families Overcome
Barriers to Eating Fresh, Nutritious Diets?
Samantha Pennington-Vrsek
Southern Oregon University
March, 2014
Introduction
Many American families living near or below the poverty line have very poor diets
severely lacking in fresh and nutritious foods. There has been a pervasive rhetoric
among healthcare professionals, organizations aimed at altering eating habits, and the
media that people do or do not eat nutritious diets primarily because of individual
choice. However, reviewing literature surrounding this topic reveals that for low-income
American families, individual choice is a minor factor in the overall problem of poor
eating habits; this problem is complex and it is sociopolitical. Low-income populations,
which are comprised largely of people who are also marginalized and politically
disenfranchised in many ways in addition to their class status, experience a plethora of
barriers to eating nutritious and fresh foods. Many of these low-income American
families experience food insecurity and therefore do not always have secure access to
culturally appropriate food which is essential to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Food
insecurity is tightly linked with the major health issues that have been rapidly increasing
throughout the United States. Community leaders can identify and overcome the
barriers to eating fresh, nutritious diets that their communities face, thereby aiding in the
improvement their health. This work is a brief review of research that will shed light on
some of these methods. The leaders that are successful in addressing nutritional
barriers come in many forms and may work within a large variety of organizations. The
type of community leader that will be most effective will depend on the specific
community that they serve and may be a grassroots organizer, a teacher, a health
paraprofessional, a governmental employee, a church leader, or a community elder, etc.
These community leaders can help low-income American families overcome barriers to
eating fresh, nutritious diets by building a community’s social, economic, environmental,
and political capital in ways described in detail in this review.
Executive Summary
American families living with low-incomes face social, political, structural, and
economic barriers to eating fresh and nutritious diets. These low-income and
marginalized populations are extremely susceptible to the serious health issues facing
Americans today because poor diet is intimately linked with chronic illnesses and
disease. Accordingly, strategies to improve health must address diet (Chaufan,
Constantino, & Davis, 2012). Factors that contribute to the poor diets of low-income
American families include more obvious hindrances like not being able to afford the
relatively high cost of fresh and nutritious foods and not being able to access these
foods because the family lives in a food desert and/ or an area with inadequate

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transportation (Chaufan et al., 2012; Jernigan, Salvatore, Styne, & Winkleby, 2012).
Barriers that are systemic and sociopolitical may not be so evident.
Already marginalized groups often experience further alienation when programs
or organizations which are trying to improve eating habits fail to recognize the needs,
wants, reality, and culture of their audience. The initiatives and actions of these
programs and organizations must be effectively adapted to their target communities in
order to avoid this outcome (Jernigan et al., 2012). The stigma of receiving food or
governmental assistance may also prove a formidable obstacle in getting people to
participate in food and health programs (Chaufan et al., 2012). Lacking experience and
social support in eating nutritious diets lends itself to a lack of knowledge of how to pick
and prepare foods in a way that one’s family will enjoy. The social roles that individuals
hold can also be a barrier. For instance, women are often expected to provide child
care, clean, and prepare meals all while also working outside the home, making the
preparation of nutritious meals very difficult (Devine, Farrell, & Hartman, 2005). The
overarching struggle of living in poverty lends itself to and exacerbates all of these
barriers and also creates an environment in which families must decide to provide one
basic need, such as safe housing, over another, like fruits and vegetables. The
importance of providing greater access to nutritious foods by improving their location,
cost, and quality and improving the wages and working and living conditions in
disenfranchised neighborhoods cannot be stressed enough (Chaufan et al., 2012).
There are many well-documented approaches to identify and to help low-income
populations overcome food insecurity.
Community leaders must research and determine the cultural identity of their
region and customize the framework for their actions around culturally relevant values of
the community that they will serve in order to successfully improve the diets of low-
income American families (Feenstra, 1997; Jernigan et al., 2012). Members of a
community are empowered to identify for themselves the nutritional barriers they face
as well as develop the necessary steps to overcome them through a method of
research called community-based participatory research (CBPR). This methodology
ensures that the most relevant issues for a community are addressed and actions that
are culturally appropriate, that feel safe and comfortable, and that unite and empower
community members are carried out (Jernigan et al., 2012). Community members trying
to overcome these barriers need to have functional social support systems in place and
promoted. Powerful social support can be provided through regular group meetings
facilitated by health paraprofessionals. Individuals in a community facing similar
obstacles can share the problems they face, solutions that worked for them, and skills to
improve their eating habits through this sort of format (Devine et al., 2005). These
avenues for change in a community are all integrated within aspects of alternative food
systems.
Creating alternative food systems which are centered on the participation of
community residents and partnerships throughout the local community and which are
committed to growing social, economic, and environmental justice can reduce the
barriers of the conventional food system (Feenstra, 2002). These food systems come in
many forms including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farm-to-school
programs, and urban community gardens. Fostering strong connections necessary for
these types of food systems requires that safe and inclusive spaces are prioritized and

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preserved (Feenstra, 2002). Engaging and partnering with a large diversity of
organizations that have strong ties in your region is an excellent way to be sure that
these spaces are cultivated and will also help to encourage involvement from a wide
array of community members (Feenstra, 1997). Religious communities, schools, health
clinics, community-based nonprofits, and Cooperative Extension agencies are examples
of very influential organizations which are ideal to form alliances with that will have
already built rapport and trust within their region. Building a political climate in your
region which will support your efforts is also very important. Reaching out to a variety of
resources and establishing a strong local food policy council can help to develop firm
connections with the local government (Feenstra, 1997). Community leaders combat
the systematic disenfranchisement of low-income communities, which perpetuates the
problem of food insecurity in America, by keeping these considerations and strategies in
mind.
Literature Review
Chaufan, Claudia, Constantino, Sophia, and Davis, Meagan. "‘It’s a full time job being
poor’: Understanding Barriers to Diabetes Prevention in Immigrant Communities
in the USA." Critical Public Health 22.2 (2012): 147–58.
Chronic illnesses and disease are caused and exacerbated by poor diet and
are also most prevalent in low-income populations. However, the belief that poor
diet and therefore poor health is entirely the result of an individual’s choices is
not true, especially when considering families living near or below the poverty
line. Socioeconomic and structural barriers are shown in this study to be the
strongest determinants of eating habits and health. Researchers interviewed the
staff, as well as the low-income Latino immigrant clients that they served, at a
non-governmental organization in California. The following were defined as the
most significant barriers to eating healthy for this community:
 the high cost of food relative to income and low cost junk foods
 inadequate transportation to stores with cheaper prices and better
selections
 feeling uncomfortable at farmers markets where few people spoke
Spanish
 the stigma of receiving food assistance was especially strong due to their
status as immigrants
 the types of jobs they held and the poor conditions they worked in
The overarching barrier of poverty was shown to be immense and required
clients to choose one basic need over another. One client exemplified this
problem by stating that, “If your housing is good, you’ll have a tighter budget for
food. And if you choose a place with a lower rent, you will buy better food, but
you will run the risk of living in a more dangerous neighborhood” (Chaufan et al.,
2012, p. 154). For those facing these and other barriers, eating a fresh, nutritious
diet is extremely challenging.
Community leaders must look much further than the rhetoric that one can
simply change their lifestyle and make healthier choices if barriers to eating
nutritious diets are to be overcome. Strategies to improve the health and diets of

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low-income American families have to address their living conditions
sociologically, economically, and in terms of their political disenfranchisement. It
is essential to provide greater access to nutritious foods by bettering location and
cost, working conditions and wages must improve, and safe spaces need to be
created in which people of all kinds, especially those who are often discriminated
against and marginalized, will feel welcome and comfortable.
Devine, Carol M., Farrell, Tracy J., and Hartman, Rosemary. "Sisters in Health:
Experiential Program Emphasizing Social Interaction Increases Fruit and
Vegetable Intake among Low-Income Adults." Journal of Nutrition Education &
Behavior 37 (2005): 265-72.
The choice to eat fruits and vegetables is impacted by many factors
including the social roles individuals hold, such as parent, their knowledge of how
to pick and prepare foods, and especially the social experiences of cooking and
tasting foods that they have had throughout their lives. A program which aimed to
increase fruit and vegetable consumption by low-income young and middle-aged
women was analyzed in this study. Nutrition paraprofessionals across New York
held a series of small group meetings which were designed to be easily
integrated by nutrition educators who were already established in a community
and which were very flexible so that as many women could attend as possible.
The program consisted of facilitated group discussions with topics chosen from a
list by participants. The members of the group were able to share the problems
they faced with eating and getting their families to eat fruits and vegetables, their
personal recipes, and skills while providing support for each other throughout the
process.
Creating this social support system was effective in improving participants
eating behaviors and attitudes toward food. Implementing programs with health
paraprofessionals already integrated into a diverse set of communities makes it
much more possible to sustain the projects.
Feenstra, Gail. "Creating Space for Sustainable Food Systems: Lessons from the
Field." Agriculture and Human Values 19 (2002): 99-106.
Community leaders can help low-income American families overcome
barriers to eating nutritious diets by creating, supporting, and sustaining
alternative food systems. These systems come in many forms including, but not
limited to, farm-to-school programs, community gardens, CSAs, local food policy
councils, and cooperative agriculture marketing programs. They are defined in
this study by their goals. Goals included making food security more accessible to
all members of a community, creating more direct relationships between food
producers and consumers, and creating agriculturally based businesses and
jobs. Bettering living and working conditions for workers within the food system,
building sustainable practices with family farms, and establishing governmental
policies that support and promote these systems were also defining goals.

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Three themes that all of these alternative food systems maintain are,
“public participation, partnerships, and [a commitment to social, economic, and
environmental justice] principles” (Feenstra, 2002, p. 105). Creating and
preserving social, political, intellectual, and economic spaces is also essential
within alternative food systems. Those involved and invested in the food system
must be able to comfortably share and celebrate with each other making social
spaces where everyone can discuss their needs, fears, and efforts indispensable
in building trust and community. Democratic participation must be a defining
component in order to avoid marginalization of individuals and so political spaces
must be built through community organizing. A political space also means
working to build local policy that supports these food systems which requires
accurate measuring and effective sharing of impacts. Creating intellectual spaces
for debriefing and evaluation is important in ensuring that the variety of
individuals working together with differing viewpoints will feel involved, respected,
and heard. The final requirement of creating economic spaces is needed in order
for a system to sustain itself. Finding local resources to get grants or other types
of financial support will be helpful or necessary in addition to the recirculation of
money and resources within the local food system. It is also extremely important
to keep in mind that creating a sustainable alternative food system will not
happen overnight and ensuring that all of the great work getting done is
appreciated, especially that which is not immediately visible, will help to keep
participants and leaders motivated.
Feenstra, Gail W. "Local Food Systems and Sustainable Communities." American
Journal of Alternative Agriculture 12.1 (1997): 28-36.
A local food system must be constructed specifically for its region and the
community it will serve in order to be effective and sustainable. A wide variety of
programs across North America are building local food systems and sustainable
communities. Examples and overviews of the common methods which have
made them successful are provided in this study.
Groups must have an in-depth understanding of the food system and
region where they are trying to build self-reliance. Conducting research on what
can be grown in a region, what has been grown there historically, and how
autonomous the current food system is in the region is where this research
should begin. Creating cookbooks and food guides focused on local and
seasonal foods, conducting marketing studies of local food producers and
consumers, and determining networks that can be developed and celebrated
between local agriculture and low-income neighborhoods are all useful
methodologies. These techniques will also help to identify the cultural identities of
the region in order to produce culturally appropriate foods and approaches to
mitigate food insecurity. Decide from the start how data gathering will be done,
prioritize local food policy councils and solid relations with the local government
and policy makers, and adopt as many ways to educate and reach out to target
audiences as possible. Building partnerships with religious communities,
community-based nonprofits, primary and secondary education institutions, local

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health clinics, restaurants, media outlets, or Cooperative Extension agencies,
etc., will expand and develop the integration and influence of food system
initiatives. The more diversity of resources and people involved the stronger any
efforts, “to restore regional food security, enhance economic vitality, and develop
the democratic capacity of local citizens” (Feenstra, 1997, p.34) will be.
Jernigan, Valerie Blue Bird, Salvatore, Alicia L., Styne, Dennis M., and Winkleby,
Marilyn. "Addressing Food Insecurity in a Native American Reservation Using
Community-Based Participatory Research." Health Education Research 27.4
(2012): 645-55.
The systemic causes of food insecurity, such as racial injustice, must be
addressed by customizing programs and actions that are culturally relevant for a
specific community. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) can work
extremely well as a means to do that because the communities involved are able
to assess for themselves what their needs are and what steps would be
appropriate to meet them. A Community Coalition was formed and was
comprised of community leaders of the Round Valley Indian Reservation in
California including members of their tribal council, PTA, and women’s and
elder’s groups along with health center staff, representatives of the California
Indian Health Service, and academic researchers. By adapting the Tool for
Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE), the Community
Coalition was able to use digital storytelling and focus groups to establish cultural
relevance of the research process and its outcomes.
The Community Coalition determined the reservation's top priorities for
change: Lack of Native-owned businesses and jobs, no access to affordable,
high quality, nutritious or culturally appropriate foods, and an absence of parks,
sidewalks, and streetlights, etc. The coalition then developed the necessary
programs and policies to address these issues including establishing a CSA,
shelf-space at the local store was altered to accommodate fresh fruits,
vegetables and traditional foods, and a grant was written to build a space for
physical activity with Native American art and exhibits designed by reservation
residents. A community often marginalized and disenfranchised was empowered
to overcome immense barriers to eating nutritious diets, overall health, and
happiness through this collaborative process.
Concluding Remarks
For families surviving on low-incomes in America the problem of food insecurity
is anything, but simple. The complexity of the interactions between sociological,
environmental, economic, and political inequalities make deciphering barriers within the
food system a difficult task, but not an impossible one. Extremely effective ways to
combat food insecurity which simultaneously chip away at the long standing and
powerful system which marginalizes and disenfranchises huge sections of our nation’s
population exist. Changing our food system to a more just and equitable one demands
building community power at the grassroots level, altering policy to change the day-to-

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day experiences of low-income American families, and recognizing the deep importance
of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration.