Detailed Objective: This project helps guide the development and implementation of a standardized
set of measurement tools that can be used to assess various components of community
food security. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began implementation
of the Community Food Security Initiative (CFSI). The initiative is a partnership
with States, communities, and nonprofit organizations to help develop sustainable
local infrastructures to increase food security. Through a cross-agency initiative,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help States and communities obtain the
tools they need to reduce hunger and food insecurity, improve nutrition, and enable
low-income families to make a transition from poverty to self-sufficiency. As
part of the CSFI, this project conducted several related tasks:
- carried out research on community food security to identify key components
of a food-secure community;
-
held a conference to develop a draft food security assessment instrument,
with logistics for the conference
-
assisted in a field test of the instrument in the Lower Mississippi River
Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative (Delta NIRI) project; and
-
developed a toolkit that can be used for implementation of the final instrument
in local communities.
The Economic Research Service provided the $127,032 in fiscal 1999 to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Graduate School for logistical support of the conference,
with the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES),
U.S. Department of Agriculture, making a contribution towards the project's
cost. The conference was held on June 28-30, 1999, in Washington, D.C. The work
on this agreement was completed in August 1999. |
