Community-based Food Research Articles

A collaborative approach to COVID-19 response: The Center for Environmental Farming Systems community-based food system initiatives

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) has spent the past two decades developing local food systems to support communities and increase resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how existing structural inequities, primarily along racial lines, are exacerbated. It has also shown the value of community-based food systems work that helps communities network, sharing valuable resources and funding to respond to the ongoing crisis. In this article, we document how CEFS’ community-based food systems initiatives are responding to the pandemic. Some of CEFS programs are community-based, working with food policy councils, offering racial equity trainings, networking schools and early care and education sites, and supporting youth convenings and internships. Others are focused on production and supply chains for meat, seafood, and produce in order to develop stronger local food systems. Through­out the work of all of CEFS’ community-based food systems initiatives in response to the pandemic, we have learned that our past efforts have increased local food systems resilience. We also note the impor­tance of flexible funders who allowed grant dollars to be reallocated to community partners to address urgent needs. We have found that online programming has increased participation and access to resources. Finally, we have been inspired by the creativity, flexibility, and adaptability of our community partners, and we are energized to continue to support them while also offering the resources we have developed to a broader audience.

Invisible and Insecure in Rural America: Cultivating Dignity in Local Food Security Initiatives

The United States’ neoliberal approach to governance promotes structural inequalities that shape individuals’ sense of dignity. We employ qualitative in-depth interviews and ethnographic field study to examine dignity construction via daily experiences with food access and foodways. Situating our study within a rural Oklahoma community with high food insecurity rates, we ask: How does structural inequality impact individuals’ daily experiences with dignity construction? How is a sense of dignity influenced by daily experiences with food access and foodways within the context of community-based food initiatives? We address structural inequality and the resulting social hierarchy of food security, focusing on three overlapping social arenas—relational, individual, and institutional. Relational interactions in food access spaces promote dignity when interactions are characterized by symmetrical social encounters. Dignity in the individual arena centers on foodways, cultural or familial traditions, and role-taking as a food provider. In the institutional arena, dignity is influenced by structures and operational approaches. Our research contributes to literatures informing policies and strategies employed by community-led, rights-based food aid systems in advanced capitalist nations. Efforts prioritize and promote human dignity, despite neoliberal, advanced capitalist governments’ failure to address structural inequalities as a root cause of food insecurity.

Salinity and Water-Related Disease Risk in Coastal Bangladesh.

An increase in surface and ground-water salinity due to climate change is reported to have become a great threat to the health of coastal inhabitants in Bangladesh. However, little is known about how much such salinity affects the risk of water-related diseases and how such risk can be mitigated in the field. This research examines the association between water-related diseases and coastal salinity along with sociodemographic and anthropometric factors. We conduct questionnaire surveys with 527 households: 273 subjects from the non-salinity and 254 subjects from the salinity rural coastal areas of Bangladesh. The logistic regression analysis demonstrates that the probability of suffering from water-borne, water-washed and water-related diseases are 8%, 14% and 11% higher in the salinity areas than in the non-salinity areas, respectively. However, it is also identified that people who consume rainwater as a drinking source even in the salinity areas have less chances and people who belong to "underweight body mass index" have more chances of being affected by water-related diseases. Overall, the results suggest that the long-term reservation of rainwater and addressing community-based food security & nutrition programs shall be effective countermeasures to reduce the risk of health problems in the coastal population and to sustain their lives even under the threat of land salinity.

Practicing Fair and Sustainable Local Food Systems: Elements of Food Citizenship in the Simeto River Valley

This paper examines a community-based food system which emerged recently around the Simeto River Valley Agreement (SRA) in Sicily (Italy) through the lens of food citizenship. The concept of food citizenship develops an understanding of how food systems function to ensure that individuals and communities have agency, access, and engagement with their food. It allows for comparative analysis between global/industrial and community/alternative systems. This paper follows a methodological integration between action research and a case study approach. The action research process produced a networked governance structure derived from multiple initiatives which are currently initiating many thematic projects—amongst them, a local food system. Results indicate that formalizing governance structures derived from self-organizing behavior have led to an inclusive platform with a shared vision and goals. The governing structures, however, require continued efforts and capacity to engage collaboratively in implementing their strategic plans. Findings suggest that actors developing a food citizenship-focused system should (1) consider how the governance organizational structure enables fluid communication among members and leads to building trust, (2) seek alternatives to engage youth (especially in rural areas) and promote citizen engagement, and (3) develop strategies to seek technical and programmatic support for initiatives. These three aspects are key features which may be adapted to other such efforts in sustainable and local food systems. The complex networked approach to governance presented here and the shared vision for sustainability are considered key elements in fostering a successful alternative food system with the fundamentals of food citizenship at its core.

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food security in developing countries: potential mitigation strategies

Abstract Despite efforts to reduce global food insecurity, success has been limited in many developing countries due to numerous inherent problems. The challenges and vulnerabilities associated with food security in these countries have been exacerbated by the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a rapid response strategy to minimize the coronavirus’ spread, countries have put in place different forms of movement restrictions, locally and globally, which have therefore affected agricultural production, food availability, and accessibility. Focusing on the four pillars of food security, this paper provides an overview of the pandemic’s impacts on food availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability drawing examples from different developing countries. The report also suggests some response strategies that could be adopted or (where already in existence) strengthened to promote food security in developing countries, during and after a pandemic/crisis. The strategies of major concern to ensure continued availability and accessibility of food during and after a pandemic/crisis include (i) establishment of community-based food networks, (ii) food and agriculture data collection and maintenance, (iii) stabilizing food prices, (iv) infrastructural development for food security, (v) increasing investment in agricultural research and policies, (vi) adopting modern farming practices, and (vii) reduction and management of agricultural and food waste.

Why Employment During and After COVID-19 Is a Critical Women's Health Issue.

Why Employment During and After COVID-19 Is a Critical Women's Health Issue.

Food pantries select healthier foods after nutrition information is available on their food bank's ordering platform.

In the USA, community-based food pantries provide free groceries to people struggling with food insecurity. Many pantries obtain food from regional food banks using an online shopping platform. A food bank introduced a visible nutrition rank (i.e. green, yellow or red) onto its platform. The hypothesis was that pantry orders would increase for the healthiest options (green) and decrease for the least healthy options (red). Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis of a natural experiment. Monthly data included nutrition ranks of available inventory and itemised records of all products ordered during the 15-month baseline period and 14-month intervention. A New England food bank. The twenty-five largest food pantries in the network based on pounds of food ordered. Descriptive analyses of 63 922 pantry ordering records before and after the visible ranks identified an increase in the proportion of green items ordered (39·3-45·4 %) and a decrease in the proportion of red items ordered (10·5-5·1 %). ITS analyses controlling for monthly changes in inventory available and pantry variables indicated that average monthly orders of green items increased by 1286 pounds (P < 0·001) and red orders decreased by 631 pounds (P = 0·045). Among the largest changes were increases in orders of fresh produce, brown rice, low-fat dairy and low-fat meats and decreases in orders of sugary juice drinks, canned fruit with added sugar, higher fat dairy and higher fat meats. This promising practice can support system-wide efforts to promote healthier foods within the food banking network.

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Effect of Food Environment Interventions on Anthropometric Outcomes in School-Aged Children and Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACTFood environments may promote access to unhealthy foods, contributing to noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). This review assessed published evidence on the effects of food environment interventions on anthropometric (BMI and weight status) outcomes in school-aged children (5–9 y) and adolescents (10–19 y) (SACA) in LMICs. We summarized randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies (QES) published since 2000 to August 2019 in the peer-reviewed and gray literature that assessed the effects of food-related behavioral and environmental interventions on diet-related health outcomes in SACA in LMICs. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library) were searched using appropriate keywords, Medical Subject Headings, and free text terms. Eleven RCTs and 6 QES met the inclusion criteria, testing multicomponent behavioral and environmental interventions in schools. Analysis of 6 RCTs (n = 17,054) suggested an overall effect on change in BMI [mean difference (MD): −0.11, 95% CI: −0.19 , −0.03], whereas there was no observed effect in 5 studies using endline BMI (n = 17,371) (MD: 0.05, 95% CI: −0.32, 0.21). There was no significant pooled effect among the 3 QES (n = 5,023) that reported differences in change in BMI or endline (MD: −0.37, 95% CI: −0.95, 0.22). There is limited evidence to support the modification of diet-related health outcomes through school-based food environment interventions in SACA in LMICs. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of school and community-based food environment interventions on nutritional status in this population.

Costs and uptake of a community model of paediatric food allergy care versus specialist hospital care: A before-and-after controlled trial.

To compare the costs of community-based food allergy model of care (intervention cohort, IC) with a tertiary-hospital, specialist allergy clinic model of care (control cohort, CC). In this pragmatic controlled trial, children (aged 0-12 years) newly referred to the allergy clinic at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital with suspected/known food allergy to three or fewer foods were allocated to see either a community-based paediatrician, trained via online webinars and web-based clinical decision support tools for food allergy diagnosis and management, or a hospital allergist. Per-patient costs to the health-care system and out-of-pocket costs to families seen within 12 months (clinician time, allergy tests and medicare billing) were compared between the two models of care. At 12 months, 54/181 (30%) CC families had been seen in the allergy clinic and 93/115 (81%) of the IC families who chose to see a community paediatrician had been seen. In an intention-to-treat analysis (ITT), health-care system costs per IC patient were higher than the costs per CC patient (mean cost $333 versus $319, respectively; mean difference $14, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) -97 to 118, P = 0.81). Total out-of-pocket costs to family were $129 in the IC compared with $89 in the CC (mean difference $40, 95% CI $4-$77, P = 0.03). A community-based model of care for simple food allergy showed that costs to the health-care system were similar between the community model and hospital care but did not show reduced out-of-pocket costs to the families 12-months post-enrolment.

Life cycle assessment and net present worth analysis of a community-based food waste treatment system

Food waste management has been a global challenge with significant economic and environmental impacts. A community-based food waste treatment scheme for Glasgow, UK is proposed. The food waste was treated by small-scale wet, mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Biogas was combusted in a combined heat and power plant to generate heat and electricity for each community. 201.39 kWh of electricity and 246.09 kWh of thermal energy could be provided to local communities per tonne of food waste treated. A total of 52,762 tonnes of food waste were produced each year in the city. Net-present worth analysis was employed to evaluate the scheme's economic feasibility. The scheme's environmental impacts were evaluated using life cycle assessment. The entire system saved 92.27 kg CO2-eq. per tonne of food waste treated and had a net-present worth of £ 3.187 million with a carbon tax of 50 £ tonne−1 and a biogas yield of 190 m3 tonne−1.

Integrating Food Systems and Local Food in Family and Consumer Sciences: Perspectives from the Pilot Extension Master Food Volunteer Program

Cooperative Extension programs across the United States are embracing food systems and local food as a new topic area. Previous studies indicate that successful local food programming requires cross-program collaboration. However, research in this area has underrepresented Extension educators from non-agricultural program areas, although understanding their perspectives is key to fostering cross-program collaboration. The case study pre­sented in this paper examines qualitative evaluation data from the pilot year of the NC State Extension Master Food Volunteer (EMFV) program, which provides training in food systems and local food to Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) educators and their volunteers. Data from semistructured interviews with educators in the pilot program and from focus groups with their volunteers provide the opportunity to explore areas of intersection and divergence between local food and the FCS pro­gram area in order to determine how to best inte­grate FCS and local food. Findings suggest that integrating local food into FCS pro­gramming will require special attention to poten­tially controversial issues that require educators and volunteers to communicate with the public about scientific issues that also invoke personal values, such as pesticide use and genetic engineering. We also found that educators and volunteers felt that promoting local food was not always compatible with an FCS focus on healthy eating. Overall, this case study demon­strates the potential to engage FCS educators and volunteers in cross-program, community-based food system projects, and to provide public educa­tion in the growing field of food systems and local food. See the press release for this article.

Using the RE-AIM framework to evaluate safe food village development programme through the food safety movement in village in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Unsafe food is a major threat to public health both globally and in the Southeast Asia region. In Indonesia, various food safety problems are still encountered such as cases of food poisoning, food containing hazardous materials and poor food handlers’ sanitation hygiene. One of The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (NADFC)’s efforts to overcome food safety issues in Indonesia is the development of safe food villages with village community-based food safety interventions through the Food Safety Movement in Village (Gerakan Keamanan Pangan Desa/GKPD). The study used RE-AIM framework with a case study design. The study sites were Pandowoharjo Village, Sendangsari Village and Mangunan Village, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Informants were selected purposively as many as 73 people. Data were collected through six FGDs, 16 interviews face to face and using telephone, observation and document review. The analytical approach used was qualitative content analysis with Opencode software version 3.6.2.0. The results of the study showed that the GKPD program involved community policy makers (village officials), the formation of food safety cadres from various community groups (family health empowerment organization, youth organizations, teachers) and the fostering of various food provider communities in the village (housewives, home-industries, food retailers, school canteen, and street food vendors), as well as the involvement of public health centre, but in its implementation there were obstacles to the adoption of food safety practices by the food vendors community which caused the program to not be fully effective in changing food safety behaviour due to economic and human resources factors.

Digging through urban agriculture with feminist theoretical implements

This article considers the value of using tools from feminist theory to explore the efforts of urban agriculture initiatives that practice to some extent outside the formal economy. Such a lens looks beyond the presence of women in specific projects to the value, extent, purpose, and principles of these projects’ efforts. These community-based food initiatives strive to provide alternatives to dominant food production practices, but their efforts are often constrained by limited access to financial, labour, time, and political resources. Despite parallels between their work and what has traditionally been dubbed “women’s work,” the feminization of urban agriculture initiatives in Canada has received little attention in the academic literature. In this article, I revisit a case study of Durham Integrated Growers (DIG), an umbrella organization supporting urban agriculture projects, practices, and values across Durham Region, Ontario. This case study represents one of several conducted through Nourishing Communities Research Group to explore the potential of food systems groups working in the social economy to benefit local communities and the environment. This earlier research on DIG revealed themes involving the need for community expertise to be recognized, the role of public policy, the effects of relying on unpaid labour, and the centrality of building community. By exploring these themes within feminist framings of knowledge, work, power, care, and community, I find many areas where DIG’s work could be better understood through feminist theoretical lenses. Although more study is required on a broader range of community-based food initiatives, this research suggests that a feminist theoretical lens may provide a useful resource for illuminating and revaluating the practical, educational, and relational efforts of those working in them.

Hidden Harvest's Transformative Potential: An Example of 'Community Economy'

Drawing on an in-depth case study of Hidden Harvest Ottawa—a for-profit social enterprise that aims to legitimize and support the practice of harvesting fruits and nuts in urban areas—this article explores the transformative potential (both realized and unrealized) of place-based urban foraging. It briefly delineates the organizational model employed, including its innovative practices and strategic 5-year vision. It then explores Hidden Harvest’s transformative potential realized: notably, it reconceptualizes surplus (and thus profit); makes visible a nonmonetary social return on investment (SROI, defined as substantive contributions to building community, adaptive capacity, prosperity, social capital, and community-based food security); normalizes access to public space for food provi­sioning; and, finally, frames Hidden Harvest as an illustrative example of Gibson-Graham’s (2006) notions of community/alternative/ethical econ­omy, an initiative that destabilizes dominant eco­nomic assumptions while fostering meaningful interconnection. Throughout this article, we argue that only through collective resignification of our economy can initiatives such as Hidden Harvest adequately receive the support warranted by its impact and outcomes to fully realize its potential and achieve long-term viability. See the press release for this article.

Governance and Innovations in Local Food System Development: A Bottom-Up Approach in North Carolina

Governance is a collaborative and systemic approach to governing that fosters innovation and inclusiveness of a broad combination of actors, processes, and instruments (Jordan, Wurzel, & Zito, 2005). It draws from the energy, expertise, and resources of the collaborative to employ more sustainable, bottom-up policy solutions. The growth in popularity of local foods and community-based food systems as a pushback to the globalization of our food industry has given rise to a network of coalitions, institutions, and actors in North Carolina that are engaging in local food system development and governance to create a place-based local food economy in the state. The case reviews the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a trans­disciplinary, interinstitutional collaboration between the state’s two land-grant institutions, (North Carolina State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University), and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, as an active and prominent stakeholder in the process of local food system governance. The Farm to Fork Initiative, now over 10 years in operation, is reviewed to provide both insight into and reflection of a bottom-up approach to creating a local food economy through governance, innovation, and the implementation of community-based food system initiatives.

Participatory plant breeding and social change in the Midwestern United States: perspectives from the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative

There is a strong need to connect agricultural research to social movements and community-based food system reform efforts. Participatory research methods are a powerful tool, increasingly used to give voice to communities overlooked by academia or marginalized in the broader food system. Plant breeding, as a field of research and practice, is uniquely well-suited to participatory project designs, since the basic process of observing and selecting plants for desirable traits is accessible to participants without formal plant breeding training. The challenge for plant breeders engaged in participatory research is to consider not only how their work incorporates farmer input in developing new varieties, but also how it interacts with broader questions of food sovereignty, food justice, diversity and democratization in the food system. This article examines these issues in the context of the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative, a participatory variety evaluation and breeding project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

P38 Gleaning as a SNAP-Ed Public Health Approach to Address Healthy Eating for Low-Income Mainers

Objective Evaluate the success of developing gleaning distribution systems to increase access to local food in settings where low-income individuals live, receive food assistance, obtain clinical services, and congregate for nutrition education. Use of Theory or Research Maine Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) programming is informed by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, aligned with the Social-Ecological Model. Target Audience Mainers eligible for SNAP benefits. Program Description Maine SNAP-Ed implements evidence-based public health approaches to reduce health disparities. At the individual and environmental levels, nutrition educators deliver series-based education and develop organizational partnerships to adopt and promote nutrition-related supports. In response to community need and readiness, Maine SNAP-Ed has seen an increase in educators partnering to develop systems to gather and distribute leftover crops as part of a policy, systems, and environmental change strategy designed to increase access to fresh produce for low-income Mainers. Evaluation Methods A monthly PSE tracking tool measures progress toward outcomes. End-of-year, semi-structured interviews with educators supplement monthly data, summarizing accomplishments and potential reach. Annual data are analyzed to assess whether intended outcomes were achieved using independent and collaborative reviews with a consensus decision-making process. The Framework indicator “MT5-Nutrition Supports Adopted” guides this work. Other methods include use of public data sources to estimate reach, and photo documentation and success story templates to describe outcomes qualitatively. Results Ten gleaning systems were developed in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, impacting more than 38 sites. Partners include local farms and food councils, federally qualified health centers, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, emergency food agencies, and public schools. Recipient sites include Head Starts, libraries, food pantries, senior and low-income housing, federally-funded summer meal sites, and clinical settings. Conclusions SNAP-Ed can successfully implement and maintain gleaning strategies that maximize local food systems and supplement nutrition education. This work supports community-based food assistance efforts, while addressing obesity prevention and food insecurity for low-income individuals. Funding SNAP-Ed.

The Impact of a Community-Based Food Education Program on Nutrition-Related Knowledge in Middle-Aged and Older Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a community-based food education program on nutrition-related knowledge in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Participants (n = 36; 65.9 ± 6.0 years old) were recruited in primary health care to a 9-month community-based lifestyle intervention program for patients with T2D and randomly assigned to an exercise program (control group; n = 16) or an exercise program plus a food education program (experimental group; n = 20). Nutrition-related knowledge was assessed through a modified version of the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire. The increase in total nutrition-related knowledge score and sources of nutrients area score was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. No significant changes in nutrition-related knowledge were found between groups in dietary recommendations and diet-disease relationship areas, although improvements were observed. This community-based food education program, with the use of easy to implement strategies (short-duration lectures and dual-task problem solving activities during exercise), had a positive and encouraging impact on nutrition-related knowledge in middle-aged and older patients with T2D.

Eating More Broccoli Doesn’t Stop Bullets: Learning PSE Approaches from Decades of Community-led Food Justice Organizing (P04-168-19)

ObjectivesWhile federal nutrition programs have just begun to allow some policy, systems and environmental (PSE) approaches, social movements for community food justice have been working for PSE change for decades. This presentation gleans lessons and examples for PSE approaches from their work. MethodsParticipatory research with community leaders in food justice work in US communities, including case studies over 7 years with 5 community-based food justice organizations, supplemented with literature and practice reviews. ResultsFood justice organizers begin with the end in mind, and their end is not behavior change or even food security, but community-led food systems that deliver equity and health. Their work is not evidence based, but ethics based and evidence informed. Their strategies do not center food, nor even food systems, but people and communities; e.g., they design food production strategies not to maximize vegetable yields (though these are still substantial), but to nourish leadership development, relationships, and dignity. Organizers invest heavily in networking, mentoring, and advocating activities. Any attention to individual behavior change outcomes, such as vegetable consumption, is forced by grantors; and though these organizations struggle financially, many pass up funding with such requirements. Starting in the 1970 s, food justice organizations and collaborations have emerged in thousands of US communities. Without any core funding or other infrastructure support, collectively they have secured national food policy changes such as WIC farmers market programs, community food project funding streams, and school food improvements. They have transformed community landscapes with gardens, farms, markets, cooperatives, and community kitchens by nurturing community leadership and power to reshape their own local physical, political and social environments. They have helped found food policy councils, to institutionalize these powers. This presentation will share practical PSE strategies. Conclusions1) Those interested in PSE approaches to create public health nutrition and reduce health disparities can learn from expertise in this movement. 2) To change PSEs for these ends, a top investment priority should be supporting organizations who have been doing this work for decades. Funding SourcesUSDA/NIFA/AFRI & NIH.