University of Minnesota, Duluth
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Evaluating Barriers to SNAP/EBT Acceptance in Farmers Markets: A Survey of Farmers
No full textFarmers play a critical role in increasing access to and affordability of fruits and vegetables in low-income communities by accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at farmers markets. However, only 40% of farmers markets nationally accept SNAP benefits. This study evaluates barriers farmers perceive in accepting SNAP in farmers markets. We recruited 134 farmers using convenience sampling from six pre-season regional growers meetings hosted in Alabama; 92 farmers met inclusion criteria and completed the anonymous, 51-question survey. The survey measured demographics, perceived barriers and promotional opportunities within constructs of the Social Ecological Model (SEM). We used descriptive statistics to summarize characteristics, and chi-square, Mann-Whitney U and t-tests to analyze differences in characteristics between those farmers who accept SNAP and those who do not. The most frequently cited barriers to SNAP acceptance included lack of internet access, increased burden for processing payments, increased need for bookkeeping, limited availability of information about the application process and payment system, limited support from the market for completing the application, a small customer base and limited number of SNAP clientele. Comparative analyses revealed statistically significant differences in demographics and perceived barriers between those who accept SNAP and those who do not. Findings from this study provide a more in-depth understanding of challenges farmers face in accepting SNAP. These can be addressed through education, policy, systems and environmental solutions at various levels of the SEM to overcome barriers to SNAP acceptance, ultimately increasing access to and affordability of fruits and vegetables for low-income communities.
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Rejoining the Planning and Public Health Fields: Leveraging Comprehensive Plans to Strengthen Food Systems in an Urban versus Rural Jurisdiction
No full textThe growth of health disparities in the United States, particularly those associated with diet-related diseases, has motivated a reconvergence of the public health and planning disciplines to address this shared challenge. However, the dynamics and mechanisms through which public health and planning agencies can systematically address food-related issues have yet to be fully understood. This study analyzes how partnership between public health professionals and planners in local, regional, and metropolitan (LRM) governments can strengthen community food systems through a more integrated and holistic approach to health. Using a national survey of planning practitioners, we identify which formal local government plans are more likely to address food-related issues, as a way to offer insights on where engagement with public health agencies could be leveraged. Our analysis is further complemented by conducting semistructured interviews with LRM governments in two communities that are known for their innovative plans and policies, to explore how this cross-disciplinary relationship unfolds on the ground. Findings reveal that comprehensive plans are most likely to address the food system, while stand-alone food systems plans are the least common formal plan to be adopted by LRM governments. Stakeholder interviews highlight how the planning–public health partnership can leverage local assets and strengthen the food system in urban versus rural jurisdictions, by formalizing cross-collaboration, identifying shared objectives, and building capacity
Devastation and Celebration: Digging into Culinary Roots, Race, and Place
No full textFirst paragraphs:
If you don’t already follow Michael Twitty (@koshersoul on Twitter), you are missing out on reflections and extended commentary on his powerful and acclaimed book, The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South. On October 11, 2018, the author tweeted, “The Cooking Gene is a culinary Roots. I wanted other families in African America and the African Atlantic to see ways they could do similar work. I wanted to introduce my country to [its] Black Southern culinary heritage and West Africans to their cousins.” He clarifies, “My book is NOT a cookbook. It is a food memoir plus culinary history plus genealogical detective story with recipes. . . . 21 or so.”
This concise meta-analysis allows details and treasures of the 425 pages of text, including a new afterword, to fall into sharper relief. Of his winding and comprehensive book, Twitty writes in the author’s note, “If it were possible to give a linear, orderly, soup to nuts version of my story or any of my family’s without resorting to genre gymnastics, I would have considered it. Instead, I am pleased with the journey as it has revealed itself to me” (p. 427). . .
The Motivations and Needs of Rural, Low-Income Household Food Gardeners
No full textIn local food systems research and practice, little attention has been given to the motivations and behaviors of low-income household gardeners as food provisioners. In this paper, we examine the motivations, barriers, and practices of food gardening among low- income rural U.S. residents with the goal of informing policies and programs that might support these food provisioning activities. This work draws from ethnographic inquiry, including surveys, interviews, and garden visits with households in rural, Western Pennsylvania. Over half of those surveyed (n=124) grow some of their own food, with higher rates of gardening among higher-income households. Low-income gardeners are most motivated by three things; (1) a desire to save money, (2) pleasure from the practice of gardening and time spent outside, and (3) a connection to spiritual practice. For the low-income gardeners we interviewed, gardening creates and reinforces social connections and cultural traditions. For many, gardening is also a political act: a way to guard against an uncertain future and resist a centralized food system. The findings from this study suggest that local food systems programs and policies might better support low-income food-provisioning households by acknowledging and respecting the knowledge and skills held by these individuals, recognizing and supporting the social and cultural role of gardening, and providing structural support around the space and time concerns identified by survey respondents as major barriers to gardening.
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Building an Airplane While Flying It: One Community's Experience with Community Food Transformation
No full textAcross the country, local and regional food policy councils are collaborating to make healthy, affordable food more available to everyone. What ingredients are needed for a true collaboration that changes social and racial equity dynamics? How can these collaborations influence systems, policy, and awareness in school food environments, specifically? This reflective case study describes some of the accomplishments and challenges faced by the multistakeholder Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council (HFFPC) for nearly a decade. Using a mixed-method participatory evaluation approach to lift up diverse partners’ insights, we conducted key informant interviews with people who were engaged with the project during its eight operating years; focus groups and participatory asset mapping with stakeholders; and reviewed meeting notes from the eight years of the HFFPC. We identify several crucial ingredients that sustain equitable community-based collaboration: changing the dominant narrative, community and youth leadership and advocacy, and aligned multistakeholder partnerships. We also discuss critical structural and values-based challenges to multistakeholder organizing, including issues of trust, transparency, resources, leadership development, and differences in perceptions of racial equity in an underresourced, predominantly Latino community. As such, this case study investigates community engagement and effectiveness. It provides insights for those food policy councils and local coalitions endeavoring to build from within the community while accomplishing policy goals, and will help to further the practice of equity, community food policy and systems change, and governance
THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: Soul of the Local Food Movement
No full textFirst paragraphs:The local food movement has emerged from the erosion of public trust and confidence in organic foods. The organic food movement emerged as a consequence of declining trust and confidence in the conventional/industrial food system. As organic foods grew in popularity, there was a call for their standardization and certification to maintain the integrity of the movement. National organic certification also made organic foods accessible to more people by allowing organics to move into mainstream food markets. However, uniform organic standards also facilitated the consolidation of control of organic production by large agri-food corporations.To maximize profits, corporate processors and retailers pressured organic producers to minimize production costs, which meant moving toward the minimum enforceable organic production practices. The social and ethical integrity of the organic movement couldn’t be encoded in the sets of allowable and non-allowable organic inputs and production practices required for organic certification. Many organic consumers then turned to local farmers to restore trust and confidence in the social and ecological integrity of their food. The philosophical mainstreams of the organic and local foods movements parted ways. Organic production surged ahead, but the heart and soul of organics were left behind (Ikerd, 2008). Many factors have contributed to the growing popularity of local foods. However, the modern local food movement was born out of the industrialization of organics
The Role of Information in Shaping Pre-Harvest Hedging Decisions in Grain Marketing
No full textHedging is a critical risk management tool in grain marketing, allowing producers to mitigate price uncertainty. Understanding the factors that influence hedging decisions is essential for developing effective marketing strategies and improving decision-making under risk. This study examined the impact of information on decision-making in a pre-harvest grain marketing context. Specifically, we employed both laboratory and framed field experiments to investigate how information about expected production costs and price evolution - including both current and historical trends - affects marketing behavior. The results indicate that providing participants with both expected cost and price evolution information significantly increased the quantity of grain hedged before harvest. Furthermore, participants hedged more grain when crop insurance was available, suggesting that insurance is viewed as a complement to hedging rather than a substitute
