UnidosUS, the country's largest Latino advocacy and civil rights organization, and Knorr, Unilever's largest food brand, released  the report titled:  “Not Enough Food on the Dinner Table: A Look into Food Insecurity among Hispanics/Latinos Living in Rural Communities in the United States”.

According to the organization, the document “aims to generate a more comprehensive understanding of the lives and needs of Latinos in rural communities via a robust research approach that included Focus Groups Discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with community members and community leaders from across the country, as well as outline programmatic and policy recommendations to address food insecurity among Latinos living in rural areas exist at the individual, community, organizational, and policy levels”.

The study evaluated food insecurity and lack of nutritious meals in these communities through 16 members and 23 community leaders from across the country between February and March 2022.

According to the report, Latin rural communities generally work in the food farm and the whole country, but their living conditions and geographical location create barriers to access healthy food, perpetuating a cycle of food insecurity. In this sense, leaders and community members discussed the importance of culturally adapted food assistance programs.

The survey states that “a total of 16 community members and 23 community leaders participated in key discussions, representing five different states across the United States. The mean age of community members was 40 (ranging from 15 to 58 years of age); the majority were female (87%), self-identified as being born in Mexico (94%) and married (75%). Engaging Latino community members living in rural communities and community leaders delivering services in rural communities resulted in the identification of multi-level and complex systems that contribute to food insecurity as well as potential solutions to address food access and gaps in resources to improve the well-being of this vulnerable population. Survey data supported literature review findings in quantifying the gravity of food insecurity and contributors among Latinos living in rural communities. Findings from the community members survey indicate approximately 75% agreed with the statement ‘In the last 12 months, I’ve worried that food would run out before having enough money to buy more’. Similarly, the majority (62%) agreed with the statement ‘In general, the food we bought was not sufficient, and we did not have enough money to buy more’. These findings highlight the need for rural Latino communities to receive support from state and federal agencies, as well as the need for increasing outreach and access to federal assistance programs and changes in policies that prevent participation”.

Commenting on the study, Rita Carreón, Vice President of Health at UnidosUS, said that “Implementation of the proposed programmatic and policy recommendations outlined in our report has the potential to improve access to healthful food options. Better access to culturally responsive and equitable options can improve dietary patterns and prevent, or delay, the onset of obesity and other chronic conditions among Latinos in rural communities. This will have a positive impact on our nation's economy and health”.

The report’s programmatic and policy recommendations directly align with the recent White House Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, andHealth which outlines a national strategy to reach the bold goal of ending hunger in America by 2030.

The three programmatic recommendations from the UnidosUS report include:

●       Strengthening nutrition education considering and respecting the context of Latinos living in rural communities;

●       Strengthening nutrition-related programming to improve engagement;

●       Offering virtual education to address disparities related to access.

The four policy recommendations from the UnidosUS report include:

●       Improving food security and food access for all Latinos;

●       Improving access and enrollment to federal nutrition assistance programs;

●       Improving food access and addressing barriers due to the built environment;

●       Strengthening funding allocation to improve food security outcomes.

The scientists who wrote the report note that, as with most investigations, the current study design is subject to limitations. Community members that participated in the needs assessment are primarily of Mexican-origin.

Although Latinos in rural communities are predominantly of Mexican-origin, the findings should not be generalized to other Latino background groups. Nonetheless, the results from the focus groups represent community members’ and organization leaders’ perspectives across five different states and rural areas in the United States.