Start Date: September 2008

ID #: 65051

Principal Investigator: David Hartley, PhD, MHA

Co-Principal Investigator: Kimberley Fox, MPA

Organization: University of Southern Maine

Funding Round: Round 3

See more related research

Share


The goal of this study is to examine how food environments influence rural childhood obesity rates and food choices, in order to ultimately help policymakers find effective rural policy interventions. Specifically, this research will investigate the community-based healthy food environment (defined as food access, cost and quality for healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat food items and whole grain products) in rural low-income Maine communities with high rates of obesity to: 1) incorporate the food environment into a conceptual model for rural childhood obesity; 2) assess how food environments affect eating behaviors and obesity of rural children enrolled in Medicaid/ SCHIP (MaineCare); 3) develop and adapt measures for assessing rural food environments and healthy eating by low-income rural children, and 4) identify policies and programs suitable for improving food environments in rural communities. In addition, qualitative methods will used with children and their parents to explore barriers and supports to healthy eating.

Related Research

December 2011

How Does the Rural Food Environment Affect Rural Childhood Obesity?

This paper examines the association between the rural food environment and rural lower-income children’s food consumption and obesity rates in six rural towns in Maine. Researchers found few significant relationships between the community food environment and the home food environment. A marginally significant relationship was found between the distance parents traveled to shop and the More

April 2011

Understanding the Rural Food Environment–Perspectives of Low-Income Parents

This article focuses on the food environment and food shopping habits of lower-income residents in rural Maine. Focus groups were conducted with lower-income parents of children enrolled in Medicaid/State Children’s Health Insurance Program in Maine to ask them about their food shopping habits, the barriers they faced when trying to obtain food, places where they More

January 2024

Food Insecurity and the Child Tax Credit

Food insecurity puts people at risk for many poor physical and mental health outcomes. Food insecurity stayed stable during much of the COVID-19 pandemic but rose significantly from 2021-2022 among U.S. households with children. Many federal supports were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. These included expansions in food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as More