Friday, Jan 14 2011 6:16PM
Despite being close to farmland, many rural Oregonians often go hungry.
An assessment of food availability in four rural Oregon counties has discovered that there are populations of people across the state who do not have easy access to food sources, reported the East Oregonian.
Residents of the rural Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler counties who do not have easy access to transportation are unable to buy groceries, simply because there are no local food sources they can access. The newspaper said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified all of the counties as having pockets of "food deserts," meaning there are no food sources within 10 miles.
According to Karen Wagner, the community food resource developer for the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon, the study showed that an increase in regional food and farming could allow communities to become more self-sustaining, and act as a source of economic community development.
The report from the rural community assistance program highlighted expanded access to food resources, increased education and skills related to cooking and local food production, and improved community and regional networking as the most important steps needed to fulfill the goal of greater self-sufficiency.
Hunger in the U.S. is more prevalent than many realize. Feeding America reports that more than 14 percent of rural households - or 2.8 million families - often go hungry, despite living in farm communities.