KU Medical Center to address food insecurity and environmental challenges in Southeast Kansas

In Southeast Kansas, an agricultural area that helps feed the rest of the country, many people struggle to have healthy food. High rates of poverty, limited access to large food retailers, low levels of health insurance and an inadequate social safety net all contribute to food insecurity in the region. These problems are compounded by the area’s history of mining and smelting, which contaminated much of the soil and water.

The University of Kansas Medical Center, in partnership with the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, has been awarded a $200,000 research grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to address food access and environmental health challenges in Montgomery County, where the rate of food insecurity is 15.8% (compared with a statewide average of 12%). The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, part of the community infrastructure established through a statewide initiative called Communities Organizing to Promote Equity, supports multiple counties in Southeast Kansas, including Montgomery.

The two-year research project will focus on solutions driven by the community itself.  “This project is about listening to communities and supporting solutions that are already emerging from the ground up,” said Christina Pacheco, J.D., MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at KU Medical Center and project director.

Montgomery County is also home to a Superfund site in Caney, Kansas — a highly contaminated area requiring intensive clean-up managed by the Environmental Protection Agency. In Caney, lead contamination of residential yards is a result of local smelting operations that date back a century.

The interventions being explored include raised garden beds, which provide a safe way to grow vegetables and fruits over contaminated soil; edible landscapes, which could include building some of the raised gardens outside storefronts; rainwater collection systems; education about food storage and preservation such as home canning; and other approaches the community has identified that can increase access to nutritious food while improving the local environment.

Based in a nearby county, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team will provide on-the-ground assistance. “This work builds on years of collaboration and trust with our communities,” said Jody Love, MBA, president and CEO of Healthy Bourbon County Action Team and project co-director. “Our role is to ensure that residents remain at the center of planning and action, and that the outcomes reflect local priorities and lived experience.”

The solutions will be designed and implemented by the Local Health Equity Action Team in Montgomery County. The project responds directly to concerns and priorities raised by members of this team. Pacheco said there are also plans to hire a community health worker, who not only will support the team but also will help residents navigate existing resources for food access.

“This really is born out of the community's desire to address these issues and our perseverance in seeking funding,” said Pacheco. “The community is really good at leveraging their strengths and resources, and when we’re able to support them, it just amplifies their work that much more.”