"Just Food doesn't Do It": Understanding Food Insecurity Among Rural Veterans in the United States

Food security among rural veteran populations is an understudied subject. This study uses qualitative data from 106 semi-structured interviews conducted with staff from programs at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies, staff from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), food security researchers, and food insecure veterans to identify the barriers to and facilitators for rural veteran food security. Barriers identified included external, structural barriers that exist in rural areas; internal barriers to using food assistance, such as feeling stigmatized; and barriers related to other social determinants of health, including a lack of education, employment, or housing stability.