Reaching Rural Veterans: Engaging Faith-Based Food Pantries in Serving Low-Income, Homeless, and At-Risk Veterans in Rural Areas

1. Facilitate collaboration among rural faith communities and food pantries in the state of Kentucky and in the delivery of services to rural veterans. 2. Utilize a competitive process to identify and select rural faith-based food pantries in Kentucky as participants. 3. Provide participating pantries with education, materials, and resources to use to reach out to rural Veterans in the pantries’ service area. 4. Bring together multiple resources to make it easy, efficient, and nonthreatening for Veterans to obtain benefits and services and build support. 5. Educate local faith communities, food pantry staff, and other community organizations about Veteran families. 6. Engage local faith communities and community organizations in providing support and assistance to Veteran families. 7. Educate low income, homeless, and at-risk Veteran families about nutrition and health. 8. Utilize uniform data collection and evaluation procedures and time lines (see Table 1 Below) with primary project directors in Indiana in order to consistently pilot the project.