Community adaptations to an impending food desert in rural Appalachia, USA

Abstract

Opening a Green Grocer offset only some of the effects of the food desert, because community members use it as a convenience store to purchase fresh produce and dairy products that families may lack before their next long-distance trip to a supermarket. Alderson's low-income residents now rely more heavily on food pantry assistance, while a small number of other residents have started gardening and food preservation. The first factor governing food acquisition behavior in rural Appalachia is food pricing, with the proximity of food access coming in second. How to overcome these two major barriers to food security in the midst of current economics and marketing remains to be answered.