Identifying Social and Cultural Barriers to Food Security in Nicaragua

IMPACT. 1: This effort will involve local researchers and community members in a much-needed food security and health study in León, Nicaragua, and in outreach efforts that provide evidencebased feedback to the local communities about these health issues. -- 2. The immediate outcome of the project will be the identification of barriers to food security and child health in poor communities in León, Nicaragua. In the long-term, this project will yield invaluable future opportunities for Ohio State students and faculty to engage with local communities in research, learning and service in an international setting, where food insecurity and child malnutrition present serious threats to individuals' well-being.OSU PARTNERS: Department of Anthropology; Department of Sociology; College of Arts and SciencesCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Center for Demographic; and Health Research (León, Nicaragua)PRIMARY CONTACT: Barbara Piperata (Piperata.1@osu.edu); Kammi Schmeer (Schemer.1@osu.edu)With approximately 1 billion people world-wide suffering from lack of adequate access to food, food insecurity and maternal-child malnutrition remain critical health issues in poor communities around the world. This project aims to address this pressing need in poor communities in Nicaragua (the 2nd poorest country in the Western hemisphere) through an "outreach through research" approach