Sponsored by:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
August 9 – Rural vs. Urban: Food Access in Oklahoma
Access to nutritious food is a significant barrier to food security and health. Our panelists will draw on years of research and personal experience to help us learn how food access is impacted by where you live and what can be done to change the disparities faced by communities across our state.
Bryce Lowery, Improving Access to Food in Rural and Urban Communities in Oklahoma through the Built Environment
Dr. Lowery will discuss the ways the built environment can both hinder and facilitate access to food for communities. He will reflect on his work exploring food security in Oklahoma over the past eight years in both urban and rural settings. He will share his knowledge of ways to address possible disparities frequently observed in low-income neighborhoods, communities of color, and rural areas through public policy and physical interventions that facilitate access to food.
Learning Objectives:
- Awareness of components of the built environment aid and hinder in promoting food access
- Knowledge on differences between the built environments in rural and urban communities in relation to food access
- An understanding of policy level interventions that can help facilitate improve food access in Oklahoma
Katie Plohocky, Positioning Food Security as an Opportunity for Economic Growth
There is a direct correlation between life expectancy and health disparities with a lack of a grocery store. What if food security can be positioned as an opportunity for community revitalization? We are building a framework to address the root causes of food access and rebuild the ecosystem of the food supply chain through a combination of locally owned mobile and micro store fronts, regional food hubs, urban agriculture, and entrepreneurial opportunities. RG Foods is breaking down barriers to bring back locally owned grocery stores to neighborhoods assisting residents in becoming active partners in their health and prosperity.
Learning Objectives:
- How food density plays a critical role for health
- Root causes of food deserts
- The new Grocery Box social franchise
Scooter Vaughan, Rural Hunger and Access to Healthy Food
Rural hunger presents unique obstacles that food insecure individuals need to navigate when seeking food assistance. This can include the lack of access to healthy food in particular, or in some cases, access to any food sources in general. This presentation sets out to highlight some of the issues that are common throughout rural communities. This will include a discussion of the issues that not only impact food insecure individuals, but issues that can impact food outreach organizations as well. Lastly, this discussion will touch on some of the more common misconceptions about rural hunger and rural communities.
Spread the word on social media:
Tag us: @HungerFreeOK
Hashtag: #HungerforActionOK