Putting Healthy Food on the Table

“Putting Healthy Food on the Table” addresses food insecurity by conducting healthy eating and gardening classes, creating a community garden, establishing container gardens, sponsoring outreach efforts at farmers’ markets and farm stands, and teaching skills to preserve fruits and vegetables through canning and freezing. “Putting Healthy Food on the Table” is a collaborative effort of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Appalachia Community Cancer Network, Vinton County Extension and local stakeholders. This project encourages healthy eating through programming, thereby increasing access to healthy fruits and vegetables among residents. This effort translates cancer prevention research findings about fruits and vegetables to the community, and gathers effective engagement strategies about rural food deserts to assist in future research efforts in Appalachia. Vinton County is designated as a “distressed county, with escalating unemployment, increasing poverty rates, decreasing access to food, and geographic isolation; putting these residents at risk for poorer food choices and less varied diets. This county was already classified as a “food desert even before the only full service grocery store closed in 2013. With no public transportation and farther travel distance, it’s now even more difficult for residents to get to a grocery store for fruit, vegetables and other healthy food options