Rural food insecurity jumped from 12% to nearly 16% in 5 years—the law that can fix it is sitting on the books
Source: Fortune ·
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed a new Motor Carrier Act, removing the requirement that trucking companies serve specific regions.
From the source
When picking up groceries requires a two-hour round trip, fresh produce can become a luxury. As a food systems researcher, I see this tension firsthand: People need fresh food to be healthy, but rural regions increasingly lack access to it. Food insecurity among rural households increased from 12% in 2019 to nearly 16% in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Low income plays a part, but so too do supply chain logistics. Delivering groceries to rural areas costs distributors more, leading to higher prices and less access for rural consumers. Perishable foods – produce, meat and dairy – travel in refrigerated trucks, making them among the most expensive products to distribute. Rural routes add further costs. Small stores order less and rarely fill a truck on their own, meaning distributors either run long, multi-stop routes, or they send trucks out and back partly empty. Either way, delivery costs increase. Because of this, many national supply chains don’t prioritize…