<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620745387204.png" alt="Kansas Living" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Living</figcaption>
 </figure>By SHERIDAN WIMMER <a href="https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2021/05/05/addressing-food-insecurity-in-kansas">Kansas Living</a>“When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.”For Debbie Bearden in Allen County, her dad was an example of someone who built longer tables.“I grew up on a dairy, and my dad allowed neighbors to get milk from
 our milk tanks,” Bearden says. “And I remember families would come with
 three or four gallon jugs and whether or not they could pay for it, my 
dad always let them have milk. Their kids needed it.”Bearden is the county coordinator for Allen County Farm Bureau and has worked hard to lessen food insecurity in her community.Food insecurity is a complex issue. We are lucky in the United States
 to have a plentiful, safe food supply, yet families still often 
struggle to acquire what they need, both in quality and quantity, 
because of financial hardships. It is this lack of consistent access 
that qualifies as food insecurity.<h2>FAR-REACHING EFFECTS</h2>According to a report from Kansas Health Institute (KHI), children 
who grow up in food-insecure homes are more likely than their 
food-secure peers to have iron-deficiency anemia, are more susceptible 
to infection and are more likely to have a history of hospitalization. 
Beyond that, they also may develop behavioral problems, obesity and 
mental health issues, resulting in poor work performance.&nbsp;Food insecurity also has economic pitfalls. A 2011 report by Center 
for American Progress estimates the cost of food insecurity in Kansas at
 a whopping $1.62 billion in 2010 alone from indirect costs of lost 
productivity, avoidable health care, private-sector food assistance 
programs and the need for increased educational services.In 2018, the food insecurity rate in Kansas was 12.7 percent, 
according to Feeding America. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the 
projected overall food insecurity rate for Kansas was 15.9 percent.Other data from Feeding America show a higher concentration of food 
insecure counties in the southeast area of the state. For example, 
Woodson County went from 17.7 percent in 2018 to 20.7 percent projected 
in 2020. Its neighbor, Allen County, increased from 15.2 percent to 18.1
 percent.Rial Carver, program manager for the Rural Grocery Initiative, a 
Kansas State University Research and Extension effort, says this 
increase is an indicator of two criteria — income and access.“When we’re talking about access to healthy food, there are two 
criteria to take into consideration — the income level and the access 
level of food in the area,” Carver says. “Those two indicators determine
 low-income or low-access areas, previously known as food deserts, 
according to the USDA. There are also environmental factors that 
contribute to challenges faced by low-income and low-access areas, for 
instance the area may have experienced historical economic challenges 
over the years.”<h2>END HUNGER IN KANSAS FUND</h2>During the pandemic, Kansas Farm Bureau’s Foundation for Agriculture 
and Farm Bureau Financial Services (FBFS) joined forces to address food 
insecurity, food deserts and other hunger issues in Kansas.&nbsp;“With or without a global pandemic, it’s important all families have 
access to food,” Terry Holdren, CEO of Kansas Farm Bureau, says. 
“COVID-19 will have long-term impacts on the economy, and there are 
going to be more people who may have difficulties when it comes to 
adequately feeding themselves and their families. This is an opportunity
 to help them.”During the pandemic, the program (which is still accepting donations)
 encouraged county Farm Bureaus and Farm Bureau Financial Services 
agents across the state to each contribute 50 cents per member in their 
respective county. The Foundation matched up to 50 cents per member, per
 county, totaling a $1.50 per member, per county donation.“We welcomed the opportunity to team up on this project to provide 
some hope in an uncertain time,” Michelle Hubert, regional vice 
president of Farm Bureau Financial Services, says. “Farm Bureau 
Financial Services stands strong on helping Kansas communities thrive.”The money went to local food banks or pantries in the respective county.“When End Hunger rolled out, the Allen County Farm Bureau board sent 
50 cents for every member in our organization, and the Farm Bureau 
Financial Services agents then sent 50 cents for each of their clients,”
 Bearden says. “We donated $1,057 to our local food pantry.”Overall, the End Hunger campaign raised more than $95,000, which was 
given to 148 food pantry locations in each of the 105 counties in 
Kansas.“Who better to address food insecurity than those who are focusing 
on it?” Bearden says on the involvement of Farm Bureau in food 
insecurity.In Allen County, Farm Bureau members and agents participated in the 
End Hunger campaign, but they’ve been working on food insecurity issues 
in several other ways.<h2>FARMERS MARKETS</h2>Farmers markets are a popular attraction for local vendors and 
shoppers. Produce, meat, baked goods and even crafts — there’s always an
 opportunity for healthy food at local farmers markets. In 2009, the 
Allen County Farm Bureau board supported Bearden in her effort to 
restart a farmers market in Iola.“The County Farm Bureau board that year was instrumental in getting 
the Allen County Farmers Market started after a five-year hiatus in 
Iola,” she says. “Every board since has been very supportive of the 
efforts to increase access to healthy food."“We researched how to outfit the vendors in order to keep them and 
shoppers safe,” Bearden says of efforts in 2020. “Vendors and shoppers 
wore face masks and vendors could wear gloves or use hand sanitizer 
between each transaction. They were encouraged to have two people — one 
to handle product, the other to handle money. There were also social 
distancing measures.”Although Bearden says they saw a decline in shoppers, they had an increase in sales.“People bought more when they came so they could stock up to decrease
 the number of times they had to be out of their homes, and this created
 another avenue for shoppers when grocery store shelves were thinning,” 
she says.In 2020, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 
awarded a grant for more than $4 million to the Mid-America Regional 
Council (MARC) through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program to
 continue “Double Up Food Bucks.”The program offers a dollar-for-dollar match for eligible shoppers to
 purchase fruits and vegetables at participating locations. The Allen 
County Farmers Market offers “Double Up Food Bucks” for anyone who has 
an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card through the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).“So, if someone comes to our farmers market with an EBT card and they
 swipe their card and get $24 off of it, they’re also given Double Up 
Food Bucks tokens for another $24,” Bearden explains. “That’s $48 to 
shop with. Double Up Food Bucks can only be used for fruits and 
vegetables. Then they have their EBT funds to buy eggs, bread, meat, 
honey or baked goods.“Farmers markets are a big educational process veiled under 
neighborly conversations,” Bearden says. “The conversations you have can
 educate people about their food.”<h2>GROCERY STORES</h2>Another important factor surrounding food insecurity is access to 
grocery stores. The Rural Grocery Initiative aims to help in both 
resources and financing for rural grocery stores across Kansas.“The initiative aims to provide resources for rural communities and 
rural grocers to help them be more sustainable,” Carver says. “Over the 
years we’ve developed the rural grocery toolkits that outline how a 
community member might open a grocery store. In addition, our Kansas 
Healthy Food Initiative is a financial resource to increase access to 
healthy food to underserved areas of the state.”Keeping rural grocery stores open and thriving is an important aspect of keeping Kansas communities alive.“We like to think about the importance of grocery stores in 
small-town Kansas in three ways,” Carver says. “First is the economic 
contribution they make to their communities. They’re an employer and 
contribute to the local tax base. Second, they can be the best source 
for healthy food in rural communities, and third, they provide a 
cultural hub for the community. There are so many examples of this. 
They’re the local coffee shop or they support local schools and teams. 
We’ve seen some stores that are also libraries or places to showcase art
 and music.”In Allen County, a grocery store was at the precipice of closing — its owners wanted to retire, and they couldn’t find a buyer.“Closing that store meant the eastern half of Allen County, the 
southeastern part of Anderson County, western part of Bourbon County and
 the northeastern part of Neosho County would have had to drive 20 miles
 or more for groceries,” Bearden says. “That may not sound far to some, 
but for our older shoppers, that’s a long way.”The community got creative and created a food co-op that sold 
memberships. They then borrowed money and the co-op members bought the 
grocery store now known as the Marmaton Market.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/5/1620745464429.png" alt="Kansas Living" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Living</figcaption>
 </figure>“It has been a struggle, honestly,” Bearden says. “We were able to 
borrow money from the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative and the co-op is 
paying back loans. We were able to keep the store, and it’s a huge 
benefit to have something closer for our older generation and rural 
members. The grocery store is also just across the street from 
low-income housing.”There are a lot of programs helping mitigate the issue, including 
SNAP, the National School Lunch Program, WIC, and others, but it starts 
at the local level. It starts with people like Debbie Bearden and her 
dad who know the implications of food insecurity and the value of 
creating a safer food supply for everyone in their community through 
farmers markets and rural grocery stores.We can make a difference by building longer tables. Can you?

Addressing food insecurity in Kansas