The Washington State Budget & Policy Center conducted a study and found that it's far more difficult for people living in rural areas to eat fresh fruits and vegies.  There are a series of hurdles that poor, rural people of which there are more than in the cities.  The hurdles include the lack of near-by grocery stores, the price of gas to make that longer trip to a better store, the time to drive an average of 15 miles each way vs. driving or walking a mile or so in an urban area to find a QFC or Safeway or a neighborhood farmers market.

"Ironically, in the areas of our state where much of the nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables are grown, families are having trouble finding them in the stores where they shop," said Stacey Schultz the author of the report and Policy Analyst for the Budget & Policy Center in a summary of the report and a press release available at their site. "The benefits of healthy food are far reaching, from protecting against cancer to reducing heart disease and diabetes. Unfortunately for those with lower incomes access to fruits and vegetables is limited."

There is assistance in the way of changing federal and state policies - allowing WIC recipients to use their benefits at their local farmers market, same with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (the old food stamps); funding more locally grown produce in the schools and so on.   However, as the report suggests, more needs to be done. "Washington State has a persistent hunger problem that has only gotten worse in this recession," said Linda Stone, Senior Food Policy Coordinator of the Children’s Alliance.  "While we have made some headway in fighting hunger, particularly through expanding eligibility for food stamps we must do more if we’re going to solve the problem of hunger now and in the future."

The full report is available online.