Focus Area: Food Security and Nutrition

Food insecurity and hunger are an historic concern in Klamath County. As the 2022-25 Klamath County Community Health Improvement Plan was being completed, the 2022 County Rankings and Roadmaps indicated 15% of local residents were food insecure. That compares to Oregon’s rate of 12.3% and the national rate of 10.2%, as measured by Feeding America in July 2021.

In the 2023 County Rankings, Klamath County’s rate of food insecurity remained at 15%.

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Change in methodology for 2018:
Due to methodological changes made in 2020, 2018 data should not be compared to previous time periods.
 
Overarching Goal

Decrease food insecurity and increase access and education about local foods.

Full Community Health Improvement Plan equity focus area information

Click here to access the food insecurity, hunger pages of the 2022-25 Klamath County Community Health Improvement Plan.

Reports

Click here to access the report for Quarter 2.

Click here to access the Community Health Improvement Plan work plan.

Lead agency

Healthy Klamath.

Baseline

The projected food insecurity rate for Klamath County, as measured by Feeding America in July 2021, is 15.9%.

Benchmarks

Decreased food insecurity by 2% as measured by Feeding America, which is published at healthyklamath.org.

 
 
Objectives

Objective 1

Identify strategies in remote communities to improve food security.

Objective 2

Increase education and utilization of existing resources and programs in Klamath County with campaigns at least twice annually.

 
Assets & Resources

Each Community Health Improvement Plan focus area has its own assets and resources within the community, in addition to supporting information and efforts being made statewide and nationally. Local resources include staff time, subject matter knowledge, promotion through communication channels and financial support, wherever possible and necessary. In addition to these resources, best practices are available through Healthy People 2030, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), among other national and regional agencies.

Local agencies, which include, but are not limited to Klamath Lake Counties Food Bank, WIC, SNAP, Klamath Grown and The Klamath Tribes.

 
State and National Efforts

Healthier Together Oregon: 2020–2024 State Health Improvement Plan

The plan states: “Many households also struggle to afford healthy food. Oregon has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, especially in families with children. Some people, especially in rural areas of the state, must travel long distances to get to a grocery store. Other people live in neighborhoods with a lot of fast-food and convenience stores, but few places to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. A resilient food system provides enough food to meet current needs while maintaining healthy systems that ensure food for future generations.”

It specifically calls out the following goals on food security:

  • Increase access to affordable, healthy and culturally appropriate foods for BIPOC-AI/AN and low-income communities.

  • Maximize investments and collaboration for food-related interventions.

  • Build a resilient food system that provides access to healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate food for all communities.

Healthy People 2030

The initiative has two related leading health indicators:

  • Household food insecurity and hunger.

  • Children and adolescents with obesity.

Goal: Improve health by promoting healthy eating and making nutritious foods available

Many people in the United States don’t eat a healthy diet. Healthy People 2030 focuses on helping people get the recommended amounts of healthy foods — like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — to reduce their risk for chronic diseases and improve their health.1 The Nutrition and Healthy Eating objectives also aim to help people get recommended amounts of key nutrients, like calcium and potassium.

People who eat too many unhealthy foods — like foods high in saturated fat and added sugars — are at increased risk for obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. Strategies and interventions to help people choose healthy foods can help reduce their risk of chronic diseases and improve their overall health.

Some people don’t have the information they need to choose healthy foods. Other people don’t have access to healthy foods or can’t afford to buy enough food. Public health interventions that focus on helping everyone get healthy foods are key to reducing food insecurity and hunger and improving health.

 
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2015). 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Retrieved from https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/2015-2020-dietary-guidelines/ guidelines/