Library

Reports: Access to healthy food

A Roadmap to Success for Rural Grocers: The North Dakota RAD Cooperative’s Journey to Sustainable Food Access
NDSU Center for Social Research, February 2025, 33 pp.
Examines the implementation of the Rural Access Distribution (RAD) Cooperative, a shared-services cooperative providing residents of Walsh and Pembina counties, North Dakota, with improved access to healthy food through a food distribution network that aims to improve food access, affordability, variety, and convenience for residents. more info >

Map the Meal Gap 2024
Feeding America, May 2024, 39 pp.
Focuses on the extent and variation in local food insecurity levels in the United States in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes local food data for several racial and ethnic identities. more info >

Utilizing Public Transportation to End Food Insecurity in Rural and Small Urban Areas by Providing Better Access: A Case Study of Rural Counties in North Dakota
NDSU Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, March 2024, 83 pp.
In rural and small urban areas of North Dakota, food insecurity can be a significant issue exacerbated by limited access to healthy food options and the lack of public transportation.The report analyzes the potential of public transportation in improving access to nutritious food and reducing reliance on personal vehicles or dependence on others for rides. more info >

Hunger on the Plains 2023
Great Plains Food Bank, March 2023, 146 pp.
This study synthesizes insights from a neighbor experience survey and a survey of food pantry and meal site partners to shed light on the experience of hunger in the Great Plains area. more info >

Household Food Security in the United States in 2021
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2022, 51 pp.
This report presents statistics from a survey that monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households, examining rates of household food security, food expenditures, and use of Federal nutrition assistance programs in 2021. more info >

The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report
USDA Economic Research Service, June 2022, 36 pp.
This report uses preliminary data from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service and USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service to examine program trends and policy changes in USDA’s largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2021. more info >

The Food Retail Landscape Across Rural America
United States Department of Agriculture, June 2021, 160 pp.
Examines the landscape of food retailers across the United States, with a focus on rural America and grocery stores, distinguishing between national, regional, and local chains and single location stores and finding that the number of grocery stores has declined from 1990 to 2015. more info >

Local Laws and Policies that Promtoe Access to Healthy Food: A Food System Crosswalk
Healthy Food Policy Project, September 2020, 10 pp.
This report is designed to help local community leaders, advocates, researchers and others navigate food policy laws, illustrating how they intersect with components of the food system. It provides examples of how specific types of laws and policies fall into different food system components and types of strategies. more info >

Disrupting Food Insecurity: Steps Communities Can Take
The Urban Institute, October 2019, 18 pp.
Challenges that families face, such as finding affordable housing, accessing needed health care, and increasing earnings and assets, can also affect their ability to afford a healthy diet. This report highlights effective strategies that leverage opportunities to address these challenges as a way to reduce barriers and improve outcomes for residents and neighborhoods. more info >

State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 2018, 18 pp.
Provides potential actions that state leaders, public health professionals, coalitions, and community-based organizations can take to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. more info >

The Power of Produce: Healthy Food Incentives Empower Families, Support Farmers, and Lift Up Communities
The Food Trust, August 2018, 44 pp.
This report examines initiatives to make fresh produce more affordable for families with lower incomes in communities across the country, focusing on the impact of SNAP on the health of families and local economies. more info >

Community Gardening: Policy Reference Guide
U.S. Department of Agriculture, October 2017, 60 pp.
This guide provides a road map for how local laws and policies can impact local gardening efforts, highlighting the benefits of community gardens and providing examples of laws and policies that can help to promote community gardening and related activities. more info >

Meeting the Dietary Needs of Older Adults: Exploring the Impact of the Physical, Social, and Cultural Environment: Workshop Summary
The National Academies Press, July 2016, 155 pp.
Summarizes information gathered at a workshop on Meeting the Dietary Needs of Older Adults. Discusses how access to healthy food is impacted by geographic, financial, and transportation barriers. more info >

Growing Local Food Systems: A Case Study Series on the Role of Local Governments
ICMA, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems , March 2015, 26 pp.
This report includes a compilation of case studies that highlight the role of local government in establishing local food systems. more info >

Promoting Healthy Eating at Food Shelves: Strategies for Success and Recommended Resources
University of Minnesota, January 2014, 12 pp.
A guide for what food shelves can do to ensure that people have access to nutritious foods. more info >

Economic and Community Development Outcomes of Healthy Food Retail
PolicyLink, November 2013, 22 pp.
Examines the economic aspects of improving access to healthy food through food retailing, distribution, and production innovations. more info >

Metropolitan Food Systems Plan
Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments, October 2013, 50 pp.
Explores available research and data on food access and infrastructure in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and presents strategic objectives and desired outcomes for the region. more info >

The Healthy Food Financing Handbook: From Advocacy to Implementation
The Food Trust, January 2013, 42 pp.
Describes a step-by-step approach to developing state and local policies that encourage the development of supermarkets and other healthy food stores in underserved communities. more info >

Web sites

Food Environment Atlas
This website focuses on the accessibility and affordability of food retailers, examining the barriers people and places face to accessing healthy and affordable food and presenting research on the consequences of food access limitations on food spending, diet, and health. more info >

Food Insecurity among the Overall Population in North Dakota
Food insecurity refers to USDA’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. This interactive map provides data on food insecurity at the county level to improve our understanding of food insecurity and food costs in local communities. more info >

Gardening and Horticulture - North Dakota State University
Resources on growing fruits, vegetables, and trees in the region, as well as maintaining lawns and supporting pollinators. more info >