Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development  

William E. Rees

First paragraph:Techno-industrial society is founded on a ‘socially constructed’ myth of perpetual economic growth propelled by the cult of efficiency, expanding trade, and continuous technological progress. But this neoliberal vision has resulted in an i... see more

Wes Jackson

Our European ancestors came as a poor people to a seemingly empty land in North America, and we built our institutions with that perception. Now we’ve become a rich people in an increasingly poor land, one that’s filling up, and our institutions don’t hol... see more

Eric Holt-Giménez

Opening paragraph:Do foodies need to know about capitalism? Every­body trying to change the food sys­tem—farmers, farmworkers, chefs, people fighting to end hunger and diet-related disease—all of us need to know about capitalism. Why? Because we have a ca... see more

suiki?st (Pauline Terbasket), Sandra Shields (Editor)

First paragraphs:We’re a part of this land, and a necessary part of it. The land needs us, and the planet loves us, and we don’t know how to be a part of that anymore, in a real sense, in a physical sense. A coming back to that is something that we as hum... see more

Molly Anderson

Despite growing calls for food system transforma­tion, the need to develop a vision to guide that transformation is sometimes overlooked. Vision is essential to inspire, mobilize, and keep a collective of people on track toward their goals. Individual vis... see more

Gail Feenstra

First paragraph:Communities across North America are respond­ing to environmental, economic, and social chal­lenges in our food and agricultural systems by cre­ating and nurturing “place-based food systems.” Some distinguishing features of place-based, re... see more

John Ikerd

First paragraphs:We are living through a time of fundamental change in human society, as is becoming increasingly clear. Climate change, fossil energy depletion, loss of biodiversity, and growing social and economic equity all threaten the future of human... see more

Jamie Harvie

The Food Commons is an agro-ecological approach to local and regional food in which the health of employees, the community, and the commons are considered holistically. Food Commons Fresno is operationalizing the model with wholesale, food box, hub, commi... see more

Jennifer Marshman

We are currently facing myriad socio-ecological crises, from global climate change to resource depletion to the loss of dozens of species every day. Despite a longstanding and impassioned environmental movement, these problems persist and are worsening. T... see more

Katherine Selting Smith, Marcia Ostrom, Donald McMoran, Lynne Carpenter-Boggs

Renewed public interest in the localized dimensions of food and farming systems offers opportunities for citizens to become more engaged in decision making about how their food is produced, distributed, and consumed, and, for all these actions, by whom. T... see more

Patricia Ballamingie, Chloé Poitevin-DesRivières, Irena Knezevic

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 u... see more

Amber A. Heckelman

Rice systems are of particular significance to build­ing climate resilience in the Philippines. This research brief summarizes a case study that com­paratively measures differences in climate resilience between organic and conventional rice systems in fou... see more

Laine Young

While much research has been done on urban agri­culture (UA), globally, less is known about the impact of gender and the implications on access to food, social relationships, and power relations. More work is needed on how to link place-based UA case stud... see more

Jordan Treakle

The Garfagnana region of Tuscany has witnessed a resurgence in the small-scale farming sector. Rooted in a historical practice of multifunctional agriculture, over the last decade family farmers and local institutions have increasingly focused on place-ba... see more

Jared T. McGuirt, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Alice S. Ammerman, Jane Kolodinsky, Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler

Spatial context may be important to direct to con­sumer (DTC) programs aimed at improving fresh fruit and vegetable access for low-income individu­als. The purpose of this study was to examine the sociodemographic and geospatial context (distance to picku... see more

Gabriel Cumming, Sophie Kelmenson, Carla Norwood

In communities across North America, organiza­tions have launched local food system initiatives as a response to the depredations of the globalized agri-food economy; however, they increasingly find that they cannot achieve their desired impacts or sustai... see more

Michael C. Granzow, Mary A. Beckie

Part case study, part reflective essay, this paper examines questions of place and scale in relation­ship to local food initiatives and, in particular, institutional procurement. A recent emphasis on “place-based” rather than “local” food systems presents... see more

Lauren Gwin

Oregon has a vibrant community food systems (CFS) movement, which has grown from a few key actors and organizations two decades ago to an increasingly organized, statewide network of more than 50 organizations working on the full span of food system chall... see more

Colette DePhelps, Soren Newman, Darin Saul

From early adopters and the first stirrings of cultural change to development of a thriving local foods culture and economy, the Palouse-Clearwater region of southeastern Washington and north central Idaho has seen remarkable place-based food-system devel... see more

Cecília Delgado

Two key questions addressed in the current study are why urban agriculture and food initiatives in Portugal take so long to materialize, and why existing initiatives don’t scale up from projects to policies. We argue that existing initia­tives are mainly ... see more

Cesare Cascella

Socioeconomic inequalities and natural resource exploitation reflect the limitations of how the current food system functions. Global and local conceptual categories are used to describe two alternatives that are shaping the way food is produced, processe... see more

Krystal M. Chojnacki, Nancy Creamer

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 t... see more

Liana R. N. Schreiber, Abby Gold, Allison Anfinson, Kristen Boelcke-Stennes, Caitlin Caspi, Nishesh Chalise, Michael Dahl, Amanda Hane, Tim Jenkins, Mary Marczak, Ellen Nikodym, Emily Saunoi-Sangren, Amy Shanfelt, Jared Walhowe, Ann Zukoski

The Minnesota Food Charter is a roadmap to improve access to healthy, affordable, and safe food. It proposes 99 specific strategies to guide statewide planning and action to change the food system. A report card to monitor the Minnesota food system is one... see more

Liana R. N. Schreiber, Teresa Ambroz, Nora Shields-Cutler, Jennifer E. Pelletier, Ann Zukoski, Susan Bishop

Small retail food stores are on the decline in Minnesota, and 1.6 million Minnesotans have little access to a full-service grocery store (Rauch & Mattessich, 2016). Additionally, grocery stores closing in rural communi­ties can be economically and sociall... see more

Maria J. Van Der Maaten

Agroecologists and development practitioners claim that the use of agroecological practices can reduce poverty and increase food security. However, this assumption is made without understanding how peasant households can access land on which they can impl... see more

Tamara Downs Schwei, Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, Joseph J. Nowak

Farmers markets have operated in Minneapolis for more than 100 years. Twenty-nine markets operated in 2018 with about 800 vendors representing a range of ages, cultures, and geography. Markets are indepen­dently managed, varying in governance structure, a... see more

Barbara Seed, Melanie Kurrein

Food security is complex in both content and governance, making it difficult to measure and monitor. In 2016, the Population and Public Health Program of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Provincial Health Services Authority, sought to iden... see more

Stephanie White, Jessica Kampanje-Phiri

Local and regional food economies throughout Africa are critical to rural and urban food security and are common sources of income for men and women. Despite their importance, local agrifood systems are often described as “informal,” a framing that obscur... see more

Alyssa Banks, Rebecca Saito, Margaret Adameck

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