COLUMBIA — Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services is conducting a series of focus groups to better understand Boone County's food system.
The Health Department is partnering with the University of Missouri Extension and is looking for participants who would like to share their experiences with certain foods in the community.
Experiences can range from acquiring food, accessing food information and reflecting on the food system.
"We really do believe in these focus groups and that they can improve access to food for everyone in Boone County, whatever situations they may be in," said Austin Krohn, a spokesperson for the Health Department. "And we can assess how people get assistance, either through WIC or the state of Missouri, and see, you know, how can we get more people fed with nutritious, healthy food?"
From these meetings, the Health Department is hoping to learn how equitable the food system is.
More information the department is hoping to gather is how resilient the food system is, and if the food supply can hold up in times of need for different people.
"I think any time that we as a community are coming together to talk about food insecurity it is a very worthy conversation to be having," said Katie Adkins, director of strategic communication for The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. "We absolutely need to talk about food insecurity in a very loud and public way because many people who are experiencing food insecurity they feel as if they're experiencing that challenge alone."
According to Adkins, 1 in 7 people in Boone County are facing food insecurity, and these meeting are a way to recognize the challenge.
The first focus group will be 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m July 8 at the Sanford-Kimpton Building, 1005 W. Worley St., and the meetings will continue through July.
Anyone interested in contributing to a focus group can register online. All participants will be provided a complimentary meal and a $20 gift card for their contributions.
