Kids living in rural regions are more likely to experience food insecurity, and a new initiative has been launched to help West Virginia communities design and test their own ideas for ending child hunger.

Tamara Sandberg, senior adviser for food security at Save the Children, said the lessons learned during the pandemic increased flexibility for federally funded food programs across the country. She hopes the lab will allow communities to continue problem-solving to ensure more kids are fed.

"The idea of the Rural Child Hunger Research and Innovation Lab is to lift up ideas from within rural communities," Sandberg explained. "Provide them with the support to incubate their ideas and then, funding and technical assistance to try out their ideas."

Cathryn Miller, West Virginia state director for Save the Children, said her organization is now partnering with a local Housing Authority to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers in the area, to families unable to drive to food banks.

"Through this initiative, we hand-delivered them to the families," Miller recounted. "But we also paired books and other learning activities, and also recipes to go along with the food that we delivered, and then, we gathered feedback from the family."

Miller added the Mountain State is relying on innovative ideas to help boost food-security efforts across all counties. She is hopeful local groups will submit their ideas, so they can receive funds to kick-start projects.

"More than 20% of rural children are estimated to experience food insecurity," Miller reported. "And here in West Virginia, that translates to one in eight households with children reporting not having enough food in their home."

Research shows food insecurity can delay normal development in young children, increase risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and anemia, as well as hyperactivity, aggression and other behavioral issues.

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collaboration

On a school lunch menu in rural Goshen, Indiana, is pizza, caprese sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, and tater tot casserole. 

It may seem like nothing special (save maybe the Midwestern flare), except it is. Some of those very ingredients are grown and sourced by students just outside the cafeteria walls. 

With the help of a USDA grant, Bethany Christian Schools has grown its farm-to-school (rather, farm-at-school) program to include a greenhouse, garden beds, a 13-head chicken coop, and pear trees. It exists in large part thanks to Tara Swarzendruber, the K-12’s food services and farm-to-school director. 

“We’re working to give [students] more tactile experiences,” particularly among younger students, she says. “A lot of them, you know, spend a lot of time on iPads and screens … But this is a very physical experience of experiencing a food, a new food. And then the next week we’ll have it in the cafeteria for them to try there too.”

That experience looks like tending to the gardens and caring for chickens. Some students save seeds to replant; others lay down newspaper and grass clippings to prevent weeds.

Picking peppers, harvesting spinach and lettuce, going to butcher chickens once a year—it’s all in the curriculum. And for good reason, science teacher Amy Thut says.

She once overheard a student say going out into the garden relieves her anxiety. Another was inspired to plant tomatoes at home, meticulously watching them grow. They learn about food systems and how everything is connected.

“Spending time outdoors smelling the fragrant basil plants, feeling the wet soil, listening to insects chirping, seeing butterflies or earthworms, and tasting tomatoes or hot peppers is a full sensory experience,” Thut says. 

“Students benefit academically, socially, and emotionally from this time outdoors.” 

According to the South Dakota State University Extension, benefits of farm-to-school programs on students and staff include: grade and test score improvements, healthier food choices, more food system knowledge, better self-esteem and morale, and hands-on/experimental teaching and learning. 

In the spring, Thut works with her high school environmental science students to plant garden beds. Think cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers, which are simple for cafeteria staff to get on plates, she says. 

In the summer, a high school student (with the help of grounds staff) will water and weed the gardens, keeping bellies full through October. Then it’s time for the “fresh cart” come wintertime: Buy a meal (or use a free or reduced lunch pass) and get unlimited access to fresh fruit and vegetables all day. On the cart, you might find pea and sunflower shoots grown by sixth graders. Or chive flowers, hand-cut by Swarzendruber. 

“My goal has always been, in the cafeteria and as we’ve been transforming [the program], that the educational experience for students doesn’t stop during the lunch period,” Swarzendruber says. 

Her pointers for schools, or even just families, looking to follow a similar model: Lean into what you’re excited about, if even just a little. Then, start small. 

That’s what Bethany Christian Schools did some dozen years ago: Take a handful of seeds and one small garden, and watch it all grow. 


Amy Felegy wrote this story for Arts Midwest.


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A North Dakota initiative that invites hunters to donate some of their deer meat to hunger relief sites has been in place for two decades now. Recent years have seen varying results but officials said there are new opportunities to help more households.

Sportsmen Against Hunger brings together hunters around the state willing to set aside of a portion of their game meat so struggling households have greater access to nutritious protein. Designated meat processors play a role in getting the product to local food shelves.

Holly Papineau, program director for the Community Action Partnership of North Dakota, which oversees the program, said demand for assistance remains high.

"Food pantries are already stretched thin," Papineau pointed out. "The benefits from the influx of donated venison reduces the reliance on costly grocery store purchases."

Papineau noted a positive they have seen is the record number of processors around the state joining the initiative. They're now up to 14 but still need help in the Williston region out west. Last year, 931 pounds of meat was donated, a drop compared to the previous year. Papineau warned it reflects the fluctuating numbers of hunting licenses sought each year, due to a variety of factors.

Wildlife diseases and waning interest among younger generations are often cited as reasons why fewer hunting licenses are being purchased. Papineau emphasized for those who still hunt, there is an opportunity to help those living nearby, because the meat processing network is pretty robust, keeping donations local.

"If it's donated in Fargo, it stays in Fargo, if it's donated in Dickinson, it stays in Dickinson," Papineau outlined.

Papineau stressed they keep food safety in mind by not accepting unauthorized game meat, not processed by a licensed shop. The program takes in deer, elk and moose meat but doesn't accept waterfowl, including geese.

People will gather over the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends to count their blessings.

While the holiday feast is plentiful for many, some people fear a lack of food access leaves them with little to celebrate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that food providers in predominantly rural, remote, and underserved communities in the state will receive an additional $500 million to purchase fruits, vegetables, and nuts to stock their food pantries.

USDA Undersecretary Jennifer Moffitt stressed the purchasing power of Hoosier local food banks and pantries.

"They're able to buy what the community needs, and they're able to buy from local farmers and ranchers, which supports regional economies as well." said Moffitt. "For Indiana, $12 million has been going through the Department of Agriculture to food banks and pantries in the region."

The $500 million is in addition to $1.5 billion in funding since 2022 for emergency food providers nationwide.

Moffitt said the funding is about connecting farmers and food with the Emergency Food Network to bring that product to local communities.

This will enable farmers to sell their products at a good price to food banks and pantries, grocery stores, and restaurants.

The Indiana Department of Agriculture reports there are 94,000 farmers in Indiana.

Victor Garcia is president and CEO of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

He said the demand for the organization's food supply is still operating at the same elevated levels that it did during the pandemic.

And just like consumers who face inflationary challenges at the grocery store, he said the food bank is feeling those same pressures.

"Unfortunately, the food bank relies on purchased food - as well as USDA products and donated food to support the various programs that we offer," said Garcia. "But with the rise in cost of food, we are unable to source as much food as there is in demand."

Additional funding for programs like the local Food Purchase Assistance Program or the Emergency Food Assistance Program, he added, helps decrease the gap in terms of food inventory.

Garcia said the Northwest Indiana food pantry is seeing on average 60,000 people accessing its services each month.