# Community-Engaged Approach to Improve Food Access and Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables in a Rural Appalachian Community

## TL;DR

This paper describes a community-academic partnership in rural Kentucky to improve food access and fruit and vegetable consumption through collaborative efforts and multi-level interventions.

## Contribution

The study provides an in-depth example of a successful community-engaged approach to address food insecurity in a rural setting.

## Key findings

- The CAB prioritized interventions for vulnerable groups like working families and lower-income households.
- Some interventions, such as family cooking classes and raised garden beds, were successfully implemented.
- CAB members reported strong engagement and communication between community and academic partners.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Community–academic partnerships offer unique opportunities to leverage expertise and resources to modify structural factors that address community priorities. However, few in-depth examples of successful partnerships in rural communities to improve food security are available. This manuscript describes the process of building a partnership to reduce food insecurity in a rural Kentucky community. Methods: The research team worked with Cooperative Extension to form a community advisory board (CAB) representative of diverse sectors of the community who had interest in food security, agriculture, and/or nutrition. The CAB convened regularly, in-person or virtually, to review community assessment information and identify, select, and adapt relevant multi-level interventions. CAB members were invited to complete two surveys and participate in a listening session to provide feedback on working with academic partners. Results: Over the first two years of the project, 17 people served on the CAB. Early in the project, the CAB prioritized interventions for working families, relatives raising children, and lower income households. Some ideas were able to come to fruition (e.g., family cooking social classes, raised garden beds), while others were explored but were unable to gain momentum (e.g., mobile market) due to challenges with feasibility, organizational capacity, and/or interest. CAB members reported high engagement and strong communication between community and academic partners. Conclusions: Full exploration of potential solutions suggested by CABs may build trust between community and academic partners and could provide a strategic selection process for multi-level, evidence-based interventions deemed feasible for addressing complex issues such as food insecurity and nutritional health outcomes.