Rural Child Poverty Nutrition CenterSeveral U.S. communities will enhance local efforts to address child poverty and hunger with the help of funding from the Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center at the University of Kentucky.

Located in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s School of Human Environmental Sciences, the center uses cutting-edge solutions in child nutrition to reduce food insecurity for children in the some of the nation’s most persistently poor rural counties. It is a partnership between the university and the U.S Department of Agriculture and is led by Ann Vail, the school’s director.

About 85 percent of all persistently poor counties in the United States are in rural areas and children are one of the most vulnerable groups.

The center awarded 17 grants, ranging from more than $50,000 to almost $100,000, to implement creative strategies for improving collaboration among the USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs and other nutrition assistance programs. State and local governments and nonprofit organizations in 324 counties were eligible to apply for the grants.

Grant recipients and their targeted counties are:

  • Auburn University- Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Marengo, Alabama
  • West Alabama Area Health Education Center in Sumter, Alabama
  • The Family Center Food Bank of the Delta in Phillips, Arkansas
  • East Arkansas Enterprise Community in St. Francis, Arkansas
  • Crisp County Community Council in Crisp, Georgia
  • Clinton County Community Foundation in Clinton, Kentucky
  • Fulton County Schools in Fulton, Kentucky
  • PreK-12 and Beyond in Madison, Louisiana
  • Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity Inc. in Sharkey, Issaquena, Humphreys and Yazoo, Mississippi
  • Whiteville City Schools in Columbus, North Carolina
  • Action Pathways (Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina) in Robeson, North Carolina
  • The Chickasaw Nation in Johnson, Oklahoma
  • Center for Community and Economic Development Inc. in Allendale, Colleton, Jasper, Bamberg, Orangeburg and Hampton, South Carolina
  • Summit School District No. 54-6 in Roberts, South Dakota
  • The University of Tennessee in Johnson, Tennessee
  • The University of Tennessee in Lake, Tennessee
  • Texas Hunger Initiative; Baylor University in Starr, Cameron and Hildago, Texas

Additional partners in the center include the UK Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, the UK Center for Business and Economic Research, the Altarum Institute and the Southern Rural Development Center.


Author: Katie Pratt
Contact: Joann Lianekhammy, 859-257-3888
Terms: HES