Sustainable Local Food Systems Research Articles

Food Deserts In Appalachia: A Socio-Economic Ill and Opportunities for Reform

Food deserts constitute a public health phenomenon in which communities lack sufficient access to nutritious whole foods. The U.S. Appalachian region currently faces a food desert crisis of problematic proportions: this crisis stems from neoliberalism’s dire legacy and a rapidly transitioning energy sector, which have left the region devastated. To combat food deserts, the Appalachian citizenry has cultivated nascent, sustainable local food systems. As viewed through an ecofeminist lens, such local systems serve as a potentially potent reform model for reconstructed “living economies” based on collective cooperation and egalitarian co-ownership.

Perspectives on the development of a local food system: the case of Dayton, Ohio

ABSTRACTMultiple sectors play vital roles in a community’s development and maintenance of a sustainable local food system. This study explored the perceptions of 22 representatives from the civil society, public, and private sectors in Dayton, OH, about the development of the region’s local food system. The researchers employed grounded theory methodology for data collection and analysis. Core themes from the participants of each sector group emerged from the data and areas of convergence and divergence among groups were reported.

Exposing the attractors of evolving complex adaptive systems by utilising futures images: Milestones of the food sustainability journey

This study aims at exposing the potential of futures images in anticipating and informing transitions of complex adaptive systems toward sustainability. Our case concerns the food system. The inherent properties of complex adaptive systems make the exact trajectories of these systems unforeseeable. However, since the systems unfold into a common direction, we can say something about the qualities of the milestones toward which these systems navigate. Attractors configure the evolution of complex adaptive systems. Since attractors are the most stable and robust elements in these systems, they are more feasible targets for foresight than the several variants that they configure and effectuate. We have depicted attractors of sustainable local food systems by futures images: through working with an appropriate level of abstraction, by leaning on a multi-perspective approach and by breaking the linear relationship between the present and the future. In this context they were sustainability-oriented trading and delivery systems, food cultures, product development projects, food brands and transparent food systems. We also located hot spots of structural change and agency within the food system. These insights may inform transition management efforts, but they must be updated frequently, since sustainable development is a journey.

Competitiveness of Small Farms and Innovative Food Supply Chains: The Role of Food Hubs in Creating Sustainable Regional and Local Food Systems

Over the last decades, the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the conventional agri-food system has and continues to be contested within both academic and public institutions. For small farms, the unsustainability of the food system is even more serious; farms’ declining share of profit and the cost-price squeeze of commodity production has increased barriers to market access with the inevitable effect of agricultural abandonment. One way forward to respond to the existing conventional agri-food systems and to create a competitive or survival strategy for small family farms is the re-construction of regional and local agri-food systems, aligning with Kramer and Porter’s concept of shared value strategy. Through a critical literature review, this paper presents “regional and local food hubs” as innovative organizational arrangements capable of bridging structural holes in the agri-food markets between small producers and the consumers—individuals and families as well as big buyers. Food hubs respond to a supply chain (or supply network) organizational strategy aiming at re-territorialising the agri-food systems through the construction of what in the economic literature are defined as values-based food supply chains.

Peer2Peer

Peer2Peer

Linking alternative food networks and urban food policy: a step forward in the transition towards a sustainable and equitable food system?

AbstractSeen as a response to the incumbent crisis affecting the food system, alternative food networks are a promising link of a new food chain, founded on a sustainable paradigm. Their activities aim at realizing a process of ‘re-localization’ and ‘re-socialization’ of food production-distribution-consumption practices, holding a prospect for the construction of a more environmentally sound, socially just and economically sustainable local food system. In order to provide such benefits, though, a host of regulatory constraints and logistical and operational barriers have to be overcome. In this paper we argue that a potentially effective force supporting the development of alternative food networks is detectable in the rapidly diffusing trend constituted by the adoption, by local governments, of a set of urban food policies integrating food issues into the many spheres of urban regulation. Such policy effort may help to coordinate public intervention with the purpose of setting the ground for a healthy local/regional food system, and provide alternative food networks with stronger connections, political capital and legitimization.

Examining Capacity within the Local Food Economy: Lessons Learned from the Appalachian Region in Mississippi

Abstract Recent federal funding has increased research and capacity building efforts that concentrate on developing sustainable local food systems. Drawing from capacity building approaches, I proposed a multi-level, multi-discipline project to promote economic development by examining the capacity of the local food system. The Appalachian Regional Commission funded the project. This article reports on the findings from this project. Using field notes, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, I determined capacity deficiencies in the local food system in the Appalachian region in Mississippi. The findings suggest that local infrastructure is piecemealed, and the fragmentation in the system creates major coordination issues for policy implementation. Also, education and training are concerns, as well as public policy within the region. Although major capacity issues were exposed in the local food system, this exploratory research created an environment for solutions to emerge that may move the local food economy forward.

Application of the Nutrition Functional Diversity indicator to assess food system contributions to dietary diversity and sustainable diets of Malawian households.

Dietary diversity is associated with nutrient adequacy and positive health outcomes but indicators to measure diversity have focused primarily on consumption, rather than sustainable provisioning of food. The Nutritional Functional Diversity score was developed by ecologists to describe the contribution of biodiversity to sustainable diets. We have employed this tool to estimate the relative contribution of home production and market purchases in providing nutritional diversity to agricultural households in Malawi and examine how food system provisioning varies by time, space and socio-economic conditions. A secondary analysis of nationally representative household consumption data to test the applicability of the Nutritional Functional Diversity score. The data were collected between 2010 and 2011 across the country of Malawi. Households (n 11 814) from predominantly rural areas of Malawi. Nutritional Functional Diversity varied demographically, geographically and temporally. Nationally, purchased foods contributed more to household nutritional diversity than home produced foods (mean score=17·5 and 7·8, respectively). Households further from roads and population centres had lower overall diversity (P<0·01) and accessed relatively more of their diversity from home production than households closer to market centres (P<0·01). Nutritional diversity was lowest during the growing season when farmers plant and tend crops (P<0·01). The present analysis demonstrates that the Nutritional Functional Diversity score is an effective indicator for identifying populations with low nutritional diversity and the relative roles that markets, agricultural extension and home production play in achieving nutritional diversity. This information may be used by policy makers to plan agricultural and market-based interventions that support sustainable diets and local food systems.

A mobile farmers’ market brings nutrition education to low-income students

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a nutrition-education intervention delivered at low-income middle schools in Washington, DC in the USA, using a mobile farmers’ market to bring hands-on lessons to schools. The program was a partnership between a local farm and university and was funded by the United States Department for Agriculture (USDA) Team Nutrition grant. Design/methodology/approach – Seven low-income middle schools received the intervention, which included 45-minute lessons focussed on nutrition education and sustainable farming concepts. The farmers’ market was delivered via a converted school bus, allowing for full market setup at each school to provide local fruits and vegetables as teaching tools. The nutrition-education lesson focussed on the USDA MyPlate and healthy meal planning. The farm education component focussed on organic farming principles, sustainability of local food systems, and seasonality. A six question pre- and post-survey was administered to 408 participating middle school students to assess changes in knowledge. Findings – Overall, average scores increased from 51 to 58 percent. Nutrition knowledge questions increased from 58 to 74 percent, while agriculture questions remained constant at 43 percent. Both increases significant using a two-sample t-test (p&lt;0.001). This suggests that students gained more nutrition education concepts in this format as compared to the agricultural concepts. Originality/value – Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that affects low-income communities disproportionally. Innovative strategies must be implemented to increase healthy food consumption. This case study presents such an approach and its value in increasing student knowledge of healthy behavior.

Print E-mail Dissolved: Lessons Learned from the Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council

The city of Portland, Oregon, is often hailed in news and popular media as the capital of the U.S. alternative food movement. In 2002, the Portland Multnomah Food Policy Council (PMFPC) was established to address the region's growing interest in cultivating a sustainable local food system. Council members contributed to many notable achievements, including a healthy corner store initiative, a beginning farmer training program, and changes to zoning codes to expand urban agriculture. However, the PMFPC was dissolved in the summer of 2012 after local government agencies expressed that the council was losing relevancy. After a decade of conducting food policy and advocacy work in a region praised for fostering both citizen engagement and sustainable food systems, what can we learn from the story of the PMFPC? In this reflective case study, we explore the challenges associated with citizen engagement in local food policy. Through semistructured interviews and analysis of PMFPC documents, we provide insight into how particular obstacles might have been avoided or overcome. Our research speaks to the broad arena of public participation and highlights the importance of negotiating and clearly articulating the roles and responsibilities of council members, government staff liaisons, and elected officials; regularly evaluating the usefulness of established roles, structures, and processes; and making the changes necessary to maintain the relevance of the council throughout its life. We conclude with lessons learned and recommendations for both citizens and government agencies hoping to foster productive public engagement and to advance local food systems policy.

Box-Scheme Based Delivery System of Locally Produced Organic Food: Evaluation of Logistics Performance

The local food systems such as fruit and vegetable box-schemes are gaining new profitable niche markets as the demand for local food is increasing. This paper presents the study made on box-scheme based local food supply system in Sweden, the Roslagslådan network, in which three distributors of locally produced organic food (LPOF) were the main actors. The objective of the study was to investigate the Roslagslådan LPOF supply network and evaluate its logistics performance. The study was based on literature review, interview, field measurement and route simulation and optimisation (in terms of route distance and driving time) analysis. The geographic information system (GIS) software was used to map the locations of the distributing companies and their delivery points (customer locations) while Route LogiX software was used for the simulation and optimisation analyses of routes for collection and distribution of LPOF, mainly vegetables and herb-based products. From the quantified information, the three companies distributed, on average about 134 boxes of LPOF to about 116 delivery points, once in two weeks period mainly during August-October. The distribution via Roslagslådan network was supplemented with other means of selling: on farm sale, open market sales and selling via supermarket. The route optimisation analysis resulted in significant savings in route distance and delivery time. The savings in distance were up to 76%, 23% and 32% for Company-1, Company-2 and Company-3 respectively while the corresponding savings in delivery time were up to 75%, 10% and 16%. This reduction in distance and time led to positive improvement toward the environmental and economical issues enhancing the sustainability of local food systems.

Strengthening Alternative Agro-food Networks in the Eastern European Countryside

Strengthening Alternative Agro-food Networks in the Eastern European Countryside This paper will answer the question raised by the ongoing debate on the conditions of Alternative Agro-Food Networks (AAFN) strengthened in the specific context of different European countries. Modern, sustainable local food systems are built on the basis of social networks which linked different actors into a coherent, horizontal web. Producers, processors and consumers are bonded by a common vision and values which go far beyond simple market production. The issue of sustainable food production and consumption gains special importance in the post-transformation countries of Eastern Europe.

Moving local food through conventional food system infrastructure: Value chain framework comparisons and insights

AbstractThere is growing recognition that the direct marketing initiatives favored by many local food activists and proponents often lack the capacity to meet rapidly expanding consumer demand for local food. To address these needs, some food systems researchers have identified a role for ‘transitional’ food systems that piggyback on the pre-existing, conventional local food system infrastructure, while moving toward the social and economic benefits of direct marketing. This paper uses a value chain model (based on business management studies and adapted to the context of agrifood enterprises) as a framework for investigating how actors who are accustomed to working within the logic of the traditional produce industry incorporate local food into their overall operations. Using a qualitative comparative case study approach, the paper examines how features of the value chain structure and governance mechanisms operate in two food distribution networks that are transitioning toward localization in a rural and an urban region of Pennsylvania, respectively. Case study analysis focuses on conventional wholesale produce distributors as the link between local producers and local buyers. Interviews with the distributors, producers and buyers reveal the sources and outcomes of challenges affecting how the distributors organize their purchasing and selling of local produce. Network practices, in turn, have equity implications as distributors struggle to pay producers enough to maintain their economic viability, while still making local produce accessible to a wide range of consumers. Policy-makers and practitioners seeking to support the ‘scaling up’ of local and regional food systems should consider targeted development of technical infrastructure in processing and distribution, as well as outreach on appropriate shared ownership models. Future research should be longitudinal to determine the longer-term role and contribution of the conventional food system infrastructure in transitioning to more sustainable local and regional food systems.

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Inaugural Issue and Special Topic Focus: Growing New Farmers

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Inaugural Issue and Special Topic Focus: Growing New Farmers

From Politics to Co-operation: The Dynamics of Embeddedness in Alternative Food Supply Chains

Alternative food supply chains have been the subject of a number of studies utilising the concept of embeddedness to account for their various dimensions, but they have been little analysed in terms of the relations between producers. As part of the body of research into the social construction of markets, this article aims to consider the nature and dynamics of ties between producers involved in the development of these chains. The study presented here relies on a series of quantitative and longitudinal network analyses in different systems of direct selling in the South of France. We consider here the example of a farmers' market and contrast it with vegetable box schemes. Our research demonstrates that alternative supply chains can renew ties between producers by decoupling political relations and through the embeddedness of sales activity in technical and friendship relations, both of which favour co-operation towards innovation. This article also aims to encourage a reconsideration of sociometry, as well as alternative food supply chains, to analyse and accompany sustainable local food systems.

Aboriginal Health Learning in the Forest and Cultivated Gardens: Building a Nutritious and Sustainable Food System

ABSTRACT Sustainable food systems are those in which diverse foods are produced in close proximity to a market. A dynamic, adaptive knowledge base that is grounded in local culture and geography and connected to outside knowledge resources is essential for such food systems to thrive. Sustainable food systems are particularly important to remote and Aboriginal communities, where extensive transportation makes food expensive and of poorer nutritional value. The Learning Garden program was developed and run with two First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario. With this program, the team adopted a holistic and experiential model of learning to begin rebuilding a knowledge base that would support a sustainable local food system. The program involved a series of workshops held in each community and facilitated by a community-based coordinator. Topics included cultivated gardening and forest foods. Results of survey data collected from 20 Aboriginal workshop participants are presented, revealing a moderate to low level of baseline knowledge of the traditional food system, and a reliance on the mainstream food system that is supported by food values that place convenience, ease, and price above the localness or cultural connectedness of the food. Preliminary findings from qualitative data are also presented on the process of learning that occurred in the program and some of the insights we have gained that are relevant to future adaptations of this program.

Direct Marketing: Towards sustainable local food systems?

My mother was at the farmers' market in Port Colborne in southern Ontario when she went into labour. She says she handed her groceries to the vendor and drove herself to the small-town hospital whe...

The health equity dimensions of urban food systems.

There is increasing recognition that the nutrition transition sweeping the world’s cities is multifaceted. Urban food and nutrition systems are beginning to share similar features, including an increase in dietary diversity, a convergence toward “Western-style” diets rich in fat and refined carbohydrate and within-country bifurcation of food supplies and dietary conventions. Unequal access to the available dietary diversity, calories, and gastronomically satisfying eating experience leads to nutritional inequalities and diet-related health inequities in rich and poor cities alike. Understanding the determinants of inequalities in food security and nutritional quality is a precondition for developing preventive policy responses. Finding common solutions to under- and overnutrition is required, the first step of which is poverty eradication through creating livelihood strategies. In many cities, thousands of positions of paid employment could be created through the establishment of sustainable and self-sufficient local food systems, including urban agriculture and food processing initiatives, food distribution centers, healthy food market services, and urban planning that provides for multiple modes of transport to food outlets. Greater engagement with the food supply may dispel many of the food anxieties affluent consumers are experiencing.

Niagara region farmers' markets: local food systems and sustainability considerations

This article presents the findings of a survey of farmers' markets customers in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. The recent growth of farmers' markets in North America and the association of these markets with local food systems development provoke examination to gain insights into consumer motivations for patronizing these markets, and to then reflect on their potential role within locally oriented and sustainable food production systems. The survey carried out on customers of three Niagara region farmers' markets corroborates previous studies that noted that socioeconomic and cultural factors such as the importance of food freshness, support of local farmers and the local farm economy, and social interaction—embeddedness—are key expressions of people's support and interest in farmers' markets. This work serves to heighten our understanding of consumer attitudes toward direct marketing via farmers' markets, yields useful speculation about these markets and their roles in sustainable local food systems progress, and also raises critical questions about such customer patronage and associated farmers' markets potential in local food system development.