Nutrition and health are underlying influences to education performance. This report is a collection and analysis of data on nutrition and the rural poor in the United States. It presents an empirical assessment of critical nutritional and social-service problems experienced by the rural poor population. The first section of the report uses data from two federal surveys to analyze the frequency of low-income rural America's intake of vegetables, nutrients, and selected fruit and vegetable groups. Section two includes survey information, literature reviews, and data analyses on barriers to participation by the rural poor in four key food-assistance programs. Results indicate that impoverished rural residents experience more nutritional problems than higher-income individuals and, often, more problems than the urban poor. Sources of vitamins A and C for the rural poor are especially inadequate. The disproportionate effect of poverty on the nutritional intake was greatest among children, especially the youngest group (2-5 years). Nutritional inadequacy was also greater among females than males. In the states surveyed, only 9.6% of America's poor children were served by the Summer Food Service Program compared with 11.8% of the metropolitan poor. The most critical barriers to participation by rural children were a lack of private non-profit sponsors, lack of outreach funding, insufficient reimbursement rates for rural areas, and eligibility rules that were too stringent. Similar administrative and logistical barriers are cited for the food stamp, Temporary Emergency Food Assistance, and food bank programs. The document recommends more private sponsorship, improved outreach efforts, and increased funding for rural food-service sites. (TES)