Food Insecurity In Rural Appalachia: Gender-Based Violence of Women Affected by Incarceration

Fascinating study. I really can't do it justice by providing a short excerpt so I hope everyone will take a few minutes to read the article in its entirety.

Society for Applied Anthropology
Food Insecurity In Rural Appalachia: The Gender-Based Violence of Women Affected by Incarceration
By Jennifer R. Wies, Eastern Kentucky University

(excerpt)
...In Kentucky, 17.7% of the population lives below the federally-recognized poverty line, placing them at risk for food insecurity. In Clay County, residents represent a disproportionately high rate of poverty, with 34.4% of the population living in poverty and a median household income of $20,175. According to U.S. Census data, 58.9% of Clay County residents over the age of 25 are high school graduates, and only 7.5% of people over the age of 25 possess a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Compounding the prevalence of household poverty is the high rate of households reporting an incarcerated male household member. Approximately 7.4% of adults in Clay County are incarcerated in federal prisons and detention centers or local jails and lockups. This rate is substantially higher than the overall United States population, where 3.1% of the adult population lives under correctional supervision in the form of probation, parole, jail, or prison...

...The significantly high rate of food insecurity (68.75%) among the participant population far exceeds the national average, where 8.7-10.4% of American households experience food insecurity. The findings suggest two areas for further action within and by the community. First, social service organizations may consider the unique needs among women-headed households affected by incarceration, who report limited access to resources to obtain food for adults and children living in their households. Second, the results call for additional research to be undertaken to explore the factors influencing food insecurity and potential sites for reducing food insecurity and hunger in Clay County, Kentucky.

The poverties identified in our findings illustrate the structural inequalities that scar our world—mass incarceration, employment shortages, discrimination, and unequal resource distributions to social services and education. As we continue our efforts in this region, these data compel us to expand the focus of structural violences to understand the poverties of women in Appalachia and their experiences with food access and hunger.

Read more at: http://sfaa.net/news/index.php/vol-24-2013/vol-24-3-feb-2013/sfaa-topical-interest-groups/food-insecurity-rural-appalachia/