Laurel Harvest: Helping Appalachia Restore A Vibrant Food Environment For Self Sufficiency Together

PROJECT SUMMARY Instructions: The summary is limited to 250 words. The names and affiliated organizations of all Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PI) should be listed in addition to the title of the project. The summary should be a self-contained, specific description of the activity to be undertaken and should focus on: overall project goal(s) and supporting objectives; plans to accomplish project goal(s); and relevance of the project to the goals of the program. The importance of a concise, informative Project Summary cannot be overemphasized. Title: Laurel Harvest: Helping Appalachia Restore A Vibrant Food Environment For Self Sufficiency Together PD: Cardarelli, Kathryn M Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Mullins, Janet Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Swanson, Mark Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Brewer, Dawn Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Barr, Makenzie Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Luecking, Courtney Institution: University Of Kentucky CO-PD: Slone, Stacey Institution: University Of Kentucky Health inequities between rural and urban communities have grown in recent decades, and inequities in obesity and related chronic diseases are particularly prevalent in rural communities. Residing in rural areas is associated with increased access to convenience or fast food options compounded with factors of lower education and nutrition skills, income, or transportation. These challenges are abundant in Appalachian Kentucky, and there is a need to target both social and built environmental factors in order to improve nutritional health outcomes. The goal of the proposed integrated project is to improve healthy eating and food security in a rural Kentucky community, Laurel County, thereby supporting a pathway to self-sufficiency and reducing obesity. Our team will employ a community-based participatory approach to identify and adapt evidence-based healthy eating interventions at multiple levels of the socioecologic model, assuring seamless integration with Extension programming. We will employ a mixed methods evaluation approach to measure outcomes, and we will employ implementation science methods and the RE-AIM framework to evaluate process. Working in partnership with the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and its Extension Council (which includes individuals from diverse sectors in the community), this project builds on our team’s long relationship with residents living in Appalachian Kentucky that has allowed us to conduct community-engaged research with this rural and underserved population. This file MUST be converted to PDF prior to attachment in the electronic application package.