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Study: Fairfield Ranks Among Best For 'Food Security'

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. – Residents in many Fairfield County towns are among the least likely to go hungry in the state, according to a recent study by the University of Connecticut.

This map shows Fairfield County's towns ranked in UConn's study of "food security." Towns in green are in the top quarter, yellow towns have above-average security, orange towns are below average and red towns are in the bottom 25 percent.

This map shows Fairfield County's towns ranked in UConn's study of "food security." Towns in green are in the top quarter, yellow towns have above-average security, orange towns are below average and red towns are in the bottom 25 percent.

Photo Credit: University of Connecticut

The study ranked all of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities based on “food security,” a metric that gauges access to healthy food based on economic factors and availability. A town with higher food security is less likely to have hungry or malnourished families.

“Food security is access by all people at all times to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

The study’s main measure of food security was its “At-Risk Ranking,” which used economic factors such as poverty rate, unemployment, income, education, age, vehicle ownership, and the presence of children in the household. A family living in a town with a better “At-Risk Ranking” is less likely to go hungry than one in a town with a worse rating.

The eight towns with the lowest risk of food insecurity were all in Fairfield County, according to the study. Weston ranked No. 1, followed by Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Easton, Westport, Ridgefield and Redding. Greenwich had the highest ranking among Connecticut’s large towns (45,000 or more people), with Fairfield second in the same group.

Most of Fairfield County ranked in the top 25 percent in terms of food security. But three towns ranked in the bottom quarter (Bridgeport, Norwalk and Danbury) and three more had a higher-than-average risk of food insecurity (Stamford, Shelton and Stratford).

“The study authors hope these results will be used to stimulate town-level discussion and considerations, and may even help prioritize further analysis and commitment to strategies that will strengthen community food security,” authors Adam Rabinowitz and Jiff Martin wrote. 

Here’s how towns covered by The Daily Voice ranked:

Darien: No. 2 overall; No. 1 among towns with 15,000-25,000 people Danbury: No. 132 overall; No. 9 among towns with more than 45,000 people Easton: No. 5 overall; No. 1 among towns with less than 7,500 people Fairfield: No. 21 overall; No. 2 among towns with more than 45,000 people Greenwich: No. 18 overall; No. 1 among towns with more than 45,000 people New Canaan: No. 3 overall; No. 2 among towns with 15,000-25,000 people Norwalk: No. 128 overall; No. 8 among towns with more than 45,000 people Redding: No. 8 overall; No. 2 among towns with 7,500-15,000 people Ridgefield: No. 7 overall; No. 4 among towns with 15,000-25,000 people Stamford: No. 124 overall; No. 6 among towns with more than 45,000 people Weston: No. 1 overall; No. 1 among towns with 7,500-15,000 people Westport: No. 6 overall; No. 1 among towns with 25,000-45,000 people Wilton: No. 4 overall; No. 3 among towns with 15,000-25,000 people See the full study and more rankings here.  

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