Op-ed: Food Security Is Urgently Needed in Black Rural Appalachia
Author Mya Price (left) with Amber Burns-Jones, a community advocate in Kentucky, who helps Kentucky residents learn about the power of food and community. (Photo courtesy of Mya Price)
A food justice advocate who grew up near this mountainous region explains how Black communities here struggle to access healthy food, and lays out ways to build local food systems that reach everyone.
Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, I spent countless hours listening to my grandmother’s stories. She often spoke of her life in Monticello, a small town in Wayne County, deep in Appalachia. Despite the beauty of the surrounding farmland, food was often scarce. With few grocery stores, long distances between places, and unreliable transportation, my grandmother frequently relied on canned and packaged foods. Fresh produce was a rare luxury, and when it was available, it was often too expensive. The anxiety of not knowing where her next meal might come from haunted her, and her stories of hunger left a lasting impact on me.
Appalachia, a mountainous region spanning 13 states in the eastern United States, stretches from southern New York to northern Mississippi and is often associated with rural poverty, rugged landscapes, and rich cultural traditions. In Kentucky, it encompasses the state’s easternmost counties, including Wayne, one of the most economically distressed areas in the nation, where residents struggle with limited access to healthcare, education, and food.
Despite a slow decline in food insecurity from 2010 to 2020, the rate in Appalachia is still 13 percent, which remains above the national average of 11.5 percent. In the central part of the region, the issue is especially persistent, with 17.5 percent of residents sometimes lacking access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. With nearly 23 percent of Black individuals in the U.S. experiencing food insecurity, a rate almost 2.5 times higher than that of white individuals, the lack of food access especially impacts Black residents of Appalachia. 11-19-24