scholarly journals Exploring the needs of urban producers in a rural state: A qualitative needs assessment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Catherine Sanders ◽  
Casandra Cox ◽  
Leslie Edgar ◽  
Donna Graham ◽  
Amanda Philyaw Perez
Keyword(s):  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Urban Farming ◽  
Market Pricing ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
State Potential ◽  
Rural State

Urban farming is a phenomenon rising in popular­ity across the United States. Investigating the needs of urban farmers in a predominately rural state is important in informing future programming and technical assistance for these clients. This qualita­tive study used semi-structured, in-depth interviews that investigated the perceptions, needs, and expe­riences of Arkansas urban farmers and their inter­actions with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. Inter­views were conducted with 16 urban farmers in Northwest and Central Arkansas. The interview data revealed highly individualized needs based on the operation size, years in operation, and mission of each urban farmer interviewed. While needs var­ied, some were consistent, such as market pricing, co-ops, and access to appropriate equipment. Par­ticipants also revealed a positive perception of Extension, though they cited that the organization did not always have resources specific to small-scale, sustainable farming. Building from the Com­munity Food System Development Framework for Change and informed by the AgroEcological-Educator theory, this study provides urban farm­ers’ insights and contextualizes urban farming in a predominately rural, southern state. Potential remains for increased collaboration and communi­cation between Arkansas urban farmers and Exten­sion. This article demonstrates the diverse needs of Arkansas urban farmers, which can be used by Extension and sustainable agriculture experts to inform research about urban and sustainable farmers in their respective states.

Organic Futures

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor J Fitzmaurice ◽  
Brian J. Gareau
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Food System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Organic Farmers ◽  
Difficult Terrain

Walking through nearly any grocery store, contemporary American consumers are bound to encounter organic food. At any of the myriad of farmers’ markets that have sprung up in cities and small communities across the United States, shoppers can expect to see claims about the provenance and farming practices employed to grow everything from prized heirloom tomatoes to seemingly mundane heads of garlic. But behind the scenes, critical scholarship has shown that organic farming increasingly resembles the industrial food system organic pioneers set out to challenge. Faced with the pressures of the modern agricultural economy many farmers have conventionalized, intensifying how they farm in the face of tremendous competition and cost. Beyond the organic labels, emblazoned on products at the supermarket and the glistening bushel baskets arrayed in market stalls, are farmers, many of whom are trying to do their best to achieve sustainability in today’s food system. This book offers a glimpse into this world, through an ethnography of a small New England farm and the people who work in its fields. It sheds light on how small-scale farmers navigate the difficult terrain between ideals of sustainability and the economic realities of contemporary farming. Using new theories of economic sociology, this book moves beyond the current debates about the conventionalization of organic agriculture. Instead, it takes a relational approach to organic practices—investigating the complex ways market pressures, moral and emotional attachments, privilege, and personal relationships intersect to shape the everyday experiences of agriculture for today’s organic farmers and their consumers.

Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lauren K. D’Souza ◽  
William L. Ascher ◽  
Tanja Srebotnjak
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Alternative Investment

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

Craft Beer's Unlikely Alchemist

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 78-90
Author(s):  
Theresa McCulla
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
The United States ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Intellectual Curiosity ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Washing Machine ◽  
Craft Beer ◽  
History Of

In 1965, Frederick (Fritz) Maytag III began a decades-long revitalization of Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, California. This was an unexpected venture from an unlikely brewer; for generations, Maytag's family had run the Maytag Washing Machine Company in Iowa and he had no training in brewing. Yet Maytag's career at Anchor initiated a phenomenal wave of growth in the American brewing industry that came to be known as the microbrewing—now “craft beer”—revolution. To understand Maytag's path, this article draws on original oral histories and artifacts that Maytag donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History via the American Brewing History Initiative, a project to document the history of brewing in the United States. The objects and reflections that Maytag shared with the museum revealed a surprising link between the birth of microbrewing and the strategies and culture of mass manufacturing. Even if the hallmarks of microbrewing—a small-scale, artisan approach to making beer—began as a backlash against the mass-produced system of large breweries, they relied on Maytag's early, intimate connections to the assembly-line world of the Maytag Company and the alchemy of intellectual curiosity, socioeconomic privilege, and risk tolerance with which his history equipped him.

Mapping global water projects: improving access to donor investment information on the web

Water Policy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-212
Author(s):  
J. Lisa Jorgensona
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Projects ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Water Project ◽  
The Web

This paper discusses a series of discusses how web sites now report international water project information, and maps the combined donor investment in more than 6000 water projects, active since 1995. The maps show donor investment:  • has addressed water scarcity,  • has improved access to improvised water resources,  • correlates with growth in GDP,  • appears to show a correlation with growth in net private capital flow,  • does NOT appear to correlate with growth in GNI. Evaluation indicates problems in the combined water project portfolios for major donor organizations: •difficulties in grouping projects over differing Sector classifications, food security, or agriculture/irrigation is the most difficult.  • inability to map donor projects at the country or river basin level because 60% of the donor projects include no location data (town, province, watershed) in the title or abstracts available on the web sites.  • no means to identify donor projects with utilization of water resources from training or technical assistance.  • no information of the source of water (river, aquifer, rainwater catchment).  • an identifiable quantity of water (withdrawal amounts, or increased water efficiency) is not provided.  • differentiation between large scale verses small scale projects. Recommendation: Major donors need to look at how the web harvests and combines their information, and look at ways to agree on a standard template for project titles to include more essential information. The Japanese (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank provide good models.

Planning Replicable Small Flow Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Developing Nations

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gaber ◽  
M. Antill ◽  
W. Kimball ◽  
R. Abdel Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Development Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Technology Choice

The implementation of urban village wastewater treatment plants in developing countries has historically been primarily a function of appropriate technology choice and deciding which of the many needy communities should receive the available funding and priority attention. Usually this process is driven by an outside funding agency who views the planning, design, and construction steps as relatively insignificant milestones in the overall effort required to quickly better a community's sanitary drainage problems. With the exception of very small scale type sanitation projects which have relatively simple replication steps, the development emphasis tends to be on the final treatment plant product with little or no attention specifically focused on community participation and institutionalizing national and local policies and procedures needed for future locally sponsored facilities replication. In contrast to this, the Government of Egypt (GOE) enacted a fresh approach through a Local Development Program with the United States AID program. An overview is presented of the guiding principals of the program which produced the first 24 working wastewater systems including gravity sewers, sewage pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants which were designed and constructed by local entities in Egypt. The wastewater projects cover five different treatment technologies implemented in both delta and desert regions.

scholarly journals Food Bank Donations in the United States: A Landscape Review of Federal Policies

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3764
Author(s):  
Katelin M. Hudak ◽  
Emily Friedman ◽  
Joelle Johnson ◽  
Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Food System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Banks ◽  
Food Bank ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Food And Beverage

Rates of food insecurity have increased substantially in the United States (US), and more families are turning to the charitable food system to help meet their needs. Prior studies have examined the nutritional quality of foods offered through food banks, but little is known about what government policies may shape the healthy food donation landscape. The purpose of this study was to review US federal policies that impact food and beverage donations to food banks and assess whether policies encourage healthy food donations. In spring 2020, two researchers independently reviewed federal food and beverage donation policies using predefined search terms in two legal databases. We identified six categories of policies based on the existing food donation literature and themes that emerged in the policy review. We identified 42 federal policies spanning six categories that addressed food and beverage donations to food banks. The largest category was “government programs,” with 19 (45%) policies. The next largest category was “donation via schools,” with 12 (29%) policies. However, no policies specifically addressed the nutritional quality of food donations. There is an opportunity for the federal government to strengthen food bank donation policies and improve the nutritional quality of donated foods and beverages.

scholarly journals The Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Farmers Markets: Recent Evidence from the US

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3423
Author(s):  
Phillip Warsaw ◽  
Steven Archambault ◽  
Arden He ◽  
Stacy Miller
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Fresh Food

Farmers markets are regular, recurring gatherings at a common facility or area where farmers and ranchers directly sell a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other locally grown farm products to consumers. Markets rebuild and maintain local and regional food systems, leading to an outsized impact on the food system relative to their share of produce sales. Previous research has demonstrated the multifaceted impacts that farmers markets have on the communities, particularly economically. Recent scholarship in the United States has expanded inquiry into social impacts that markets have on communities, including improving access to fresh food products and increasing awareness of the sustainable agricultural practices adopted by producers, as well developing tools for producers and market stakeholders to measure their impact on both producers and communities. This paper reviews the recent scholarship on farmers markets to identify recent trends and synthesizes the current evidence describing the ways in which farmers markets contribute to the wellbeing of their communities, as well as identifying areas for additional future research.

scholarly journals Home food procurement impacts food security and diet quality during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith T. Niles ◽  
Kristen Brassard Wirkkala ◽  
Emily H. Belarmino ◽  
Farryl Bertmann
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Food Procurement ◽  
Food Insecure Households

Abstract Background Home food procurement (HFP) (i.e. gardening, fishing, foraging, hunting, backyard livestock and canning) have historically been important ways that people obtain food. Recently, some HFP activities have grown (e.g. gardening), while other activities (e.g. hunting) have become less common in the United States. Anecdotally, COVID-19 has sparked an increase in HFP evidenced by increased hunting licenses and shortages in seeds and canning supplies. HFP may have positive benefits for food security and diet quality, though research beyond gardening is especially limited in high-income countries. Methods We examine HFP activities since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and their relationship to food security and dietary quality using multivariable logit models and matching analysis with a statewide representative survey (n = 600) of residents of Vermont, United States. Results We find 29% of respondent households classified as food insecure since COVID-19, and higher prevalence of food insecurity among those experiencing a negative job change since COVID-19, households earning less than $50,000 annually, Hispanic and multi-race respondents. Nearly 35% of respondents engaged in HFP activities since the COVID-19 pandemic began; the majority of those gardened, and more than half pursued HFP activities more intensely than before the pandemic or for the first time. Food insecure households were more likely to pursue HFP more intensely, including more gardening, fishing, foraging, and hunting. Respondents who were food insecure, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, those with a negative job disruption, and larger households all had greater odds of increased intensity of HFP during the COVID-19 pandemic. HFP was significantly associated with eating greater amounts of fruits and vegetables; however, this effect was only significant for food secure households. Conclusion Overall, these results suggest that HFP activities have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and may be an important safety net for food insecure households. However, HFP for food insecure households does not translate into the same higher fruit and vegetable intake as found among food secure HFP households, suggesting this population may be trying to maintain intake, or that they may have potential important resource or technical assistance needs. Long-term, HFP activities may have important food security and diet quality impacts, as well as conservation implications, which should be more thoroughly explored. Regardless, the increased interest and intensity of HFP demonstrates opportunities for educational and outreach efforts.

Emphasizing Choice and Autonomy in Personal Hygiene, Menstrual Health, and Sexual Health Product Distribution to People Experiencing Homelessness in Atlanta, Georgia During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110249
Author(s):  
April M. Ballard ◽  
Alison T. Hoover ◽  
Ana V. Rodriguez ◽  
Bethany A. Caruso
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Product Distribution ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
Menstrual Health ◽  
Do So

The Dignity Pack Project is a small-scale, crisis-oriented supply chain in Atlanta, Georgia, designed to meet the acute personal hygiene,menstrual health, and sexual health needs of people experiencing homelessness (PEH). It was organized in response to conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic that continue to illuminate and exacerbate the distinct and complex challenges PEH face when trying to meet their basic needs and maintain their health. In addition to being particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to underlying conditions, crowding, and shared living spaces, the pandemic makes it harder for PEH to access already scant resources. Specifically, shelters across the United States have experienced outbreaks and, as a result, have reduced capacity or closed completely. Social support organizations have paused or restricted services. Donations and volunteering have decreased due to economic conditions and social distancing requirements. This practice note describes how we integrated feedback from PEH at the outset of the Dignity Pack project—and continue to do so—enabling the development of a pragmatic, humanistic outreach model that responds to the evolving needs of PEH as pandemic conditions and the seasons change. We detail how we established complementary partnerships with local organizations and respond to critical insights provided by PEH. We offer lessons and recommendations driven by the needs and preferences of PEH.

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