Virtual barriers: unpacking the sustainability implications of online food spaces and the Yellowknife Farmers Market’s response to COVID-19

Abstract Background Through their support of local agriculture, relationships, and healthy diets, farmers markets can contribute to a sustainable food system. Markets like the Yellowknife Farmers Market (YKFM) are social spaces that support local food, yet the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes to their current model. We explore the potential of online marketplaces to contribute to a resilient, sustainable food system through a case study of the YKFM. Methods In 2019, a collaborative mixed-method evaluation was initiated by the YKFM and university partners in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The evaluation included an in-person Rapid Market Assessment dot survey and questionnaire of market patrons from two YKFM dates prior to the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, a vendor survey and interviews were deferred. Data collected from the two patron surveys, alongside researcher observations, available literature, public announcements, and informal email and phone discussions, inform the discussion. Results For the patron surveys, 59 dot survey and 31 questionnaire participants were recruited. The top motivators for attendance were eating dinner, atmosphere, and supporting local businesses, and most patrons attended as couples and spent over half of their time talking to others. The YKFM did not move online; instead, they proposed and implemented a “Shop, don’t stop” market. Informal conversations suggested the small scale of the market and technology challenges were perceived barriers to moving online. The physically-distanced market was well-attended and featured in local media. Conclusions NWT food strategies rely on farmers markets to nurture a local food system. Data suggest a potential incongruence between an online model and important market characteristics such as the event-like atmosphere. Available literature suggests online markets can support local food by facilitating purchasing and knowledge-sharing, yet they do not replicate the open-air or social experience. The decision not to move online for the YKFM reflects market patron characteristics and current food context in Yellowknife and the NWT. While online adaptation does not fit into the YKFM plan today, online markets may prove useful as a complementary strategy for future emerging stressors to enhance the resiliency of local systems.

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Virtual Barriers: Unpacking the Sustainability Implications of Online Food Spaces and the Yellowknife Farmers Market’s Response to COVID-19

10.21203/rs.3.rs-40591/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Josalyn Radcliffe ◽

Kelly Skinner ◽

Andrew Spring ◽

Lise Picard ◽

France Benoit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Current Model ◽

Farmers Markets ◽

Small Scale ◽

Online Markets ◽

Farmers Market ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Local Food System ◽

Sustainable Food System

Abstract Background: Through their support of local agriculture, relationships, and healthy diets, Farmers Markets can contribute to a sustainable food system. Markets like the Yellowknife Farmers Market (YKFM) are social spaces that support local food, yet the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes to their current model. We explore the potential of online marketplaces to contribute to a resilient, sustainable food system through a case study of the YKFM.Methods: In 2019, a collaborative mixed-method evaluation was initiated by the YKFM and university partners in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The evaluation included an in-person Rapid Market Assessment dot survey and questionnaire of market patrons from two YKFM dates prior to the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, a vendor survey and interviews were deferred. Data collected from the two patron surveys, alongside researcher observations, available literature, public announcements, and informal email and phone discussions, inform the discussion. Results: For the patron surveys, 59 dot survey and 31 questionnaire participants were recruited. The top motivators for attendance were eating dinner, atmosphere, and supporting local businesses, and most patrons attended as couples and spent over half of their time talking to others. The YKFM did not move online; instead, they proposed and implemented a “Shop, don’t stop” market. Informal conversations suggested the small scale of the market and technology challenges were perceived barriers to moving online. The physically-distanced market was well-attended and featured in local media. Conclusions: NWT food strategies rely on Farmers Markets to nurture a local food system. Data suggests a potential incongruence between an online model and important market characteristics such as the event-like atmosphere. Available literature suggests online markets can support local food by facilitating purchasing and knowledge-sharing, yet they do not replicate the open-air or social experience. The decision not to move online for the YKFM reflects market patron characteristics and current food context in Yellowknife and the NWT. While online adaptation does not fit into the YKFM plan today, online markets may prove useful as a complementary strategy for future emerging stressors to enhance the resiliency of local systems.

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Virtual Barriers: Unpacking the Sustainability Implications of Online Food Spaces and the Yellowknife Farmers Market’s Response to COVID-19

10.21203/rs.3.rs-40591/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Josalyn Radcliffe ◽

Kelly Skinner ◽

Andrew Spring ◽

Lise Picard ◽

France Benoit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

New Technology ◽

Current Model ◽

Good Time ◽

Farmers Markets ◽

Online Markets ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Local Food System ◽

Sustainable Food System

Abstract Background Through their support of local agriculture, relationships, and healthy diets, farmers’ markets can contribute to a sustainable food system. Markets like the Yellowknife Farmers Market (YKFM) are social spaces that support local food, yet the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes to their current model. This paper explores the potential of online marketplaces to contribute to a resilient, sustainable food system and the barriers to making this transition for the YKFM. Methods In 2019, a collaborative mixed-method evaluation was initiated by the YKFM and university partners in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The co-created evaluation plan included two patron surveys, a vendor survey and vendor interviews. The evaluation began with an in-person Rapid Market Assessment dot survey and questionnaire of market patrons from two YKFM dates prior to the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, we determined it was not a good time to conduct the vendor survey and interviews. Ongoing engagement with the market facilitated an assessment of the COVID-19 response. Results For the patron surveys, 59 dot survey and 31 questionnaire participants were recruited. The top motivators for attendance were eating dinner, atmosphere, and supporting local businesses, and most patrons attended as couples and spent over half of their time talking to others. The YKFM did not move online, citing concerns about meeting produce demand, incongruence between the online model and market strengths, low dependency on the YKFM by vendors, and potential challenges for patrons using new technology. Conclusions NWT food strategies rely on farmers’ markets to nurture a local food system. Online markets can support local food by facilitating purchases and knowledge-sharing, yet they do not replicate the open-air or social experience. Challenges to the online transition reflect the survey findings and current food context in the NWT. While online adaptation does not fit into the YKFM plan today, online markets may prove useful as a complementary strategy for future emerging stressors to enhance the resiliency of local systems.

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Shared power and fairness in trust-based supply chain relationships in an urban local food system

British Food Journal ◽

10.1108/bfj-05-2019-0309 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 122 (3) ◽

pp. 870-883 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dilupa Nakandala ◽

Meg Smith ◽

Henry Lau

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Competitive Environment ◽

Small Scale ◽

Product Price ◽

Content Type ◽

Local Food System ◽

Supply Chain Relationships ◽

Fresh Food

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate supply chain relationships in an urban local fresh food system from a retailer perspective to examine the types of relationships and the factors underpinning the development of such relationships.Design/methodology/approachUsing the multiple case study method, interview data from twelve urban local fresh food retailers in Sydney were analysed using the thematic analysis.FindingsThis study finds that balanced power relationships in the supply chain allow reasonable power to sit with growers in product price determination irrespective of the dependency of small-scale growers on relatively large local retailers. Trust-based relationships are developed over multiple transactions, where shared values across the supply chain and consistently low opportunistic behaviour in reward sharing are demonstrated to be the crucial factors underpinning close relationships. This study also found evidence of horizontal supply chain linkages among retailers in a competitive environment.Practical implicationsFindings of this study have implications for policymakers in designing urban fresh food systems and for practitioners in large urban retailers including supermarkets that attempt to integrate local food into their product portfolio.Originality/valueThis study extends the local food system literature dominated by rural studies to include new knowledge about the dynamics of collaborations in contemporary urban local fresh food supply chains. It provides the first empirical evidence of lateral inventory transshipment between retailers in a competitive environment confirming previous simulation studies.

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Energy efficiency in small-scale biointensive organic onion production in Pennsylvania, USA

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170510000098 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 181-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Stephen R. Moore

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Food Production ◽

Food System ◽

Energy Output ◽

Small Scale ◽

Efficiency Ratio ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Fossil Energy ◽

Sustainable Food System

AbstractModern agriculture relies heavily on fossil energy for food production. Reducing fossil energy and replacing that energy with renewable energy is critical in attaining a sustainable food system. Hand-scale intensive food production offers a reduction in fossil energy and an increased use of renewable human-based energy. Using biointensive production techniques, onions (Allium cepa) were grown in Pennsylvania, USA. A life-cycle analysis was performed to monitor energy utilization. Individual human labor tasks were evaluated using the factor method. This method accounts for the type and duration of physical activity. The average yield of eight onion varieties utilizing biointensive production in standard-sized beds (9.3 m2;100 ft2) was 160.2 kg. The US average for mechanical onion production is 46.1 kg/9.3 m2 (100 ft2). The energy efficiency ratio, specific energy and energy productivity were 51.5, 0.03 MJ kg−1 and 32.2 kg MJ−1 (MJ=megajoule), respectively. When defined within common boundaries, these three relationships: energy input, energy output and yield productivity allow researchers, farmers and policy-makers to select production systems and/or practices that better manage fossil and renewable energy for food production. Current mechanized agriculture has an energy efficiency ratio of 0.9. With most energy being supplied by fossil fuels. The energy efficiency for biointensive production of onions in our study was over 50 times higher than this value (51.5) and 83% of the total energy required is renewable energy. Biointensive production offers a viable energy use alternative to current production practices and may contribute to a more sustainable food system.

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Encouraging farm gate sales and marketing through land use policy

10.32920/ryerson.14657238.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Heather Britten

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Small Scale ◽

Southern Ontario ◽

Local Food System ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

Sales And Marketing ◽

The Impact

This research brings together concepts of sustainability, a local food system, and farm gate marketing. With these concepts, the research explores two scales of policy planning with regards to land use in Ontario, and answers the question: In Southern Ontario, what is the impact of land use on a farmer's ability to sell at the farm gate? Despite the seemingly simple and small-scale nature of a farmer selling his/her produce at their own farm gate, there is surprising complexity to the myriad policies that apply. The dynamic relationship between eaters, farmer, and planners presents particularly interesting challenges for planners in Southern Ontario. Understand [sic] the local food system and engaging in local food consumption begins to address larger issues of sustainability and farm viability. By providing farmers with opportunities, through land use planning policy, they are able to engage with eaters at the farm gate and accomplish place-making activities.

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Encouraging farm gate sales and marketing through land use policy

10.32920/ryerson.14657238 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Heather Britten

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Small Scale ◽

Southern Ontario ◽

Local Food System ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

Sales And Marketing ◽

The Impact

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Marketing locally produced foods: Consumer and farmer opinions in Washington County, Nebraska

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1079/raf2005114 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 252-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Mindi L. Schneider ◽

Charles A. Francis

Keyword(s):

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Farmers Markets ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Local Foods ◽

Purchase Decisions ◽

Washington County ◽

Local Food System ◽

Survey Results ◽

High Level

AbstractLocal food system potentials were studied in Washington County, Nebraska. As a departure from most studies of locally based systems, farmers were surveyed in addition to consumers for potential participation. Data about the current food system and opinions and preferences for local production, marketing, and purchasing of food were collected using self-administered mail questionnaires. The response rate was 35% for the farmer survey and 37% for the consumer survey. Results indicated that, on the farming side of the food system, conventional corn and soybean production and marketing predominated in Washington County, and farmer interest in producing for local markets was low. Consumers reported a high level of interest in purchasing food from farmers' markets, local grocery stores, local restaurants and directly from farms, and indicated a willingness to pay a price premium for local foods. They also reported that quality and taste were the most important factors in food purchase decisions, but environmentally friendly production and support for local farmers were also important. We conclude that there is tremendous potential for local marketing of farm products, but that there is a large gap between consumer demand and willingness of farmers to meet this demand. Further study of motivations and opinions of farmers is needed, in addition to determining production thresholds for the number of farms and farmers needed to meet local food demands.

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The public plate in the transnational city: Tensions among food procurement, global trade and local legislation

Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation ◽

10.15353/cfs-rcea.v6i1.268 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 22-42

Author(s):

Jennifer Sumner ◽

Hayley Lapalme

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Local Level ◽

Public Institutions ◽

Local Food Systems ◽

Global Trade ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Local Food System ◽

Playing Field

Local food systems are crucial to sustainability, and one of the most effective ways to develop them is to harness the buying power of large public institutions, such as hospitals and universities. Steering public funds toward local food systems, however, is not as easy as it might appear. Institutions must navigate a maze of regulations that can become significant barriers to effecting change. In Ontario, for example, public institutions are squeezed between two contradictory policies: the Broader Public Sector Directive, which mandates a level playing field and prohibits preferential buying based on geography, and the Local Food Act, which aims to increase the consumption of local food (with a specific focus on procurement in Ontario public institutions) and to foster successful and resilient local food economies and systems. Adding to this tension, global trade treaties are drilling down to the local level, proscribing preferential procurement of local food as “protectionist” and a barrier to trade. Public institutions are caught in the middle, wanting to purchase more local products but unwilling to risk reprisals. This paper investigates these tensions by reporting on a recent study of institutional buyers and government officials in the Toronto area to understand more thoroughly these barriers to operationalizing a local food system, while recognizing that sustainable food systems require a judicious combination of ‘local and green’ and ‘global and fair’ (Morgan 2008).

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Recognising, Safeguarding and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13179510 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 9510

Author(s):

Dauro Mattia Zocchi ◽

Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco ◽

Paolo Corvo ◽

Andrea Pieroni

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Sustainable Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Cultural Sustainability ◽

Local Food System ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Shed Light

The safeguarding and promotion of food heritage are often considered as a possible way for achieving social and cultural sustainability objectives. This literature review investigates some of the dynamics underlying the heritagisation of food and explores the risks of this process. It focuses mainly on anthropological, geographical, and sociological publications. Overall, it aims to shed light on the strengths and limitations of food heritagisation regarding the improvement of the socio-cultural sustainability of the food system. The analysis highlights cross-cutting risks, namely the omission of tangible and intangible elements of the local food system, and the exclusion of key stakeholders from the recognition and institutionalisation of food heritage. The review highlights the strict interdependence between intangible and tangible elements during food heritagisation, and assesses how local and global interactions can activate and shape this process. It sheds light on the need to pay more attention to the factors, actors, and relationships underpinning the emergence and recognition of food and food-related elements as part of the local heritage.

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Disruptive innovation and operationalization in local and sustainable food systems: Examining the University of Toronto-Local Food Plus partnership

Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l alimentation ◽

10.15353/cfs-rcea.v6i1.269 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 120-139

Author(s):

Lori Stahlbrand

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Large Scale ◽

Food System ◽

Local Food ◽

Disruptive Innovation ◽

Government Support ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

University Of Toronto ◽

The University

This paper traces the partnership between the University of Toronto and the non-profit Local Food Plus (LFP) to bring local sustainable food to its St. George campus. At its launch, the partnership represented the largest purchase of local sustainable food at a Canadian university, as well as LFP’s first foray into supporting institutional procurement of local sustainable food. LFP was founded in 2005 with a vision to foster sustainable local food economies. To this end, LFP developed a certification system and a marketing program that matched certified farmers and processors to buyers. LFP emphasized large-scale purchases by public institutions. Using information from in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews, this paper argues that the LFP project was a disruptive innovation that posed a challenge to many dimensions of the established food system. The LFP case study reveals structural obstacles to operationalizing a local and sustainable food system. These include a lack of mid-sized infrastructure serving local farmers, the domination of a rebate system of purchasing controlled by an oligopolistic foodservice sector, and embedded government support of export agriculture. This case study is an example of praxis, as the author was the founder of LFP, as well as an academic researcher and analyst.

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