Monday, May 16 2011 4:02PM
Access to nutritious food in many rural Arizona communities has become a concern, a new report shows.
One area of rural development that has become a chief concern in Arizona is the lack of access to healthy, affordable food. A new report by the Arizona Association of Food Banks (AAFB) shows a number of state counties have substantial food insecurity rates, with four counties with levels of 20 percent or higher.
The food insecurity rate — which the AAFB defines as the lack of access to healthy food, according to the Arizona Journal — is 17.4 percent for the state of Arizona.
In particular, Apache, Yuma, Navajo and Greenlee counties had ratings of at least 20 percent. Slightly more than 27,000 residents living in Navajo County are considered food insecure, the report says.
While these statistics may be cause for alarm, the Arizona Journal states the AAFB can now utilize this information to help with economic development in these rural communities and improve their access to food.
"These landmark studies provide transformational information that allows Arizona food banks to direct food resources to the neediest areas of the state while being good stewards of public donations," St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance CEO Terry Shannon told the Journal.