Ohio State University is taking part in a project led by South Dakota State University to help isolated communities increase the availability of nutritious food.
The project will focus on what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls "rural food deserts" - areas where a substantial number of people are located far from supermarkets. The project will test the theory that communities with local food policy councils will have less of a hunger problem than those that do not. Improving food pantries is one of the project's main goals. The five-year, 4 million dollar grant program also includes researchers in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Nebraska.