Food access, mobility, and transportation: a survey and key informant interviews of users of non-profit food hubs in the City of Vancouver before and during the COVID-19 crisis

Background In the City of Vancouver, Canada, non-profit food hubs such as food banks, neighbourhood houses, community centres, and soup kitchens serve communities that face food insecurity. Food that is available yet inaccessible cannot ensure urban food security. This study seeks to highlight food access challenges, especially in terms of mobility and transportation, faced by users of non-profit food hubs in the City of Vancouver before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods This study involved an online survey (n = 84) and semi-structured follow-up key informant interviews (n = 10) with individuals at least 19 years old who accessed food at a non-profit food hub located in the City of Vancouver more than once before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Results 88.5% of survey respondents found food obtained from non-profit food hubs to be either very or somewhat important to their household’s overall diet. In their journey to access food at non-profit food hubs in the City of Vancouver, many survey respondents face barriers such as transportation distance/time, transportation inconveniences/reliability/accessibility, transportation costs, line-ups at non-profit food hubs, and schedules of non-profit food hubs. Comments from interview participants corroborate these barriers. Conclusions Drawing from the findings, this study recommends that non-profit food hubs maintain a food delivery option and that the local transportation authority provides convenient and reliable paratransit service. Furthermore, this study recommends that the provincial government considers subsidizing transit passes for low-income households, that the provincial and/or federal governments consider bolstering existing government assistance programs, and that the federal government considers implementing a universal basic income. This study emphasizes how the current two-tier food system perpetuates stigma and harms the well-being of marginalized populations in the City of Vancouver in their journey to obtain food.

Capital in context: Funding US Inland Northwest food hub development before and during COVID-19

This study focuses on how 10 food hubs in the U.S. Inland Northwest resourced their start-up and development before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Case studies include coop­erative, government agency, nonprofit, and family-owned food hubs. Because of the prominence of nonmonetary values as drivers in food hub devel­opment, we used a social entrepreneurship frame­work to understand how people, context, and a social value proposition affected access to and use of capital resources. We found that each food hub had a unique mix of capital sources and profita­bility that reflected and shaped who was involved, their mission, and their available resources. All operating food hubs that we studied strengthened and grew their business during the first year of the pandemic. Two federal COVID-19-related pro­grams—the Paycheck Protection Program and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program—played brief but instrumental roles in helping most organi­zations early in the pandemic, enabling several to pivot from heavily impacted markets (such as restaurants and educational institutions) to direct-to-consumer markets and food security efforts. For several, panic buying early in the crisis followed by a consistent large increase in demand fueled organi­zational growth. The food hubs adapted quickly, with some significantly changing their business model and expected trajectory as they weathered the first year of the pandemic, coming out stronger than before.

Information sources utilized by Vermont foodservice businesses during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

Our research team interviewed owners or managers (n ­=10) of commercial (restaurants, caterers, food hubs) and institutional (schools, hospitals) foodservice businesses in Vermont in the summer and fall of 2020 to gather information about their experiences and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the information sources they utilized to make decisions about operating procedures and business strategies as the pandemic unfolded. Though this is not a comparative analysis to other states, Vermont had strong networks and support systems in place before the onset of COVID-19 that were poised to respond quickly as events unfolded. In addition, these interviews highlighted the importance of both formal and informal information sources, which filled different niches in the information ecosystem.

FLEdGE (Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged) Partnership

The Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged (FLEdGE) SSHRC-funded Partnership has deep roots in relationships developed over time among academics and community-based practitioners. FLEdGE emerged from community-driven research in Ontario on food hubs and community resilience dating from 2010. From there it expanded to include seven research nodes across Canada and three thematic international working groups, with over 90 researchers, students, and community partners involved in the project. As a multi-institutional project, FLEdGE has nodes in British Columbia (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)/Alberta (University of Alberta), Northwest Territories (Wilfrid Laurier University), northern Ontario (Lakehead University), eastern Ontario (Carleton University), southern Ontario (Wilfrid Laurier University; University of Guelph; University of Waterloo); Quebec (McGill University; Dawson College); and Atlantic Canada (Dalhousie University; Carleton University). There are two or more lead researchers in each node, typically from different disciplines and several community partners in each node. In this way, FLEdGE branched out to include more than 90 partners and collaborators.

An Empirical Study on Factors Influencing Customers to Order Food Online through Food Delivery Apps

The Indian start-ups are finding that their secret ingredient for fulfillment in life is indeed, food. There are too many players today fighting to win the consumers heart literally through their bellies. Food technology is that the flavour of the season for Indian start-ups. But contrary to public opinion, it’s not about IT but innovation within the food experience provided to the buyer using real food technology. Indian food delivery market is valued at 15 billion dollars and set for an exponential growth. Food delivery has become a competitive market in India. The expansion of online food ordering delivery platform by mobile apps has made businessmen awake and notice. The number of the favored food hubs like Swiggy, Uber EATS, Zomato, FoodPanda and other similar apps are feeding the planet online and making profits. The target of the study is to analyse the factors influencing customers to order food online through food delivery apps. Chi- Square is employed to analyse the target of the study. From the study, it’s found that the bulk of the respondents (57.8%) accept that there’s difficulty in using the appliance. Thus, the web food delivering application should initiate some ideas for the convenience of the users. The super senior citizens aren’t ready to adapt to the changing trends and technologies in modern food ordering systems. Thus, awareness should be created among them.

Food hubs play an essential role in the COVID-19 response in Hawai‘i

Community food security and food systems resili­ence have received much emphasis in the last two decades, at least partially in response to mounting challenges and pressures on the global food system. While empirical research shows strong evidence that direct-to-consumer relationships in the food system predominantly serve affluent commu­nities, during the COVID-19 pandemic local food providers have become a necessity through their provision of essential services, such as hunger relief and home deliveries for vulnerable populations. In this paper, we examine the challenges and opportunities of food hubs—innovations in local food systems that help connect small farmers with local markets—during the COVID-19 pandemic using quantitative and qualitative data from practitioners on the ground. The hubs were not necessarily equipped or experienced in the response needed, but they quickly adapted to the situation and demonstrated success during the pandemic, as illustrated by 200–300% growth in performance metrics such as revenues generated, employees retained, customers served, and farmers supported. The performance of the hubs in response to the multiple challenges accompanying the pandemic demonstrates their key role in food system resilience through features of diversity, functional redundancy, and connectivity, suggesting that disaster preparation should consider local food hubs a necessary service. We provide policy suggestions for supporting their role in local food system resilience beyond the pandemic.

Strategic Supply Chain Planning for Food Hubs in Central Colombia: An Approach for Sustainable Food Supply and Distribution

This paper investigates the problem of sustainable rural supply and urban distribution of fresh food products in central Colombia. Paradoxically, while farmers in the countryside suffer from poverty due to the low profitability of the agricultural activity, inhabitants at urban centers pay high prices for fresh and nutritious foods. In this work, we propose a supply chain system and a business model based on food hubs located on existing (and often abandoned) public facilities in the central region of Colombia. There are many examples in which the hub strategy has facilitated trade and logistics in supply chains. However, few studies consider the particularities of the presented case. We study a business strategy through a mathematical model which considers both the sustainable and efficient operation of the food hubs and better trading conditions for farmers. We propose a variant of the competitive hub location problem adapted to this case study. We tested the model under different scenarios such as changes in the attractiveness parameters, operation costs, and profit margins. The results suggest that if hubs are able to attract farmers, the model can be both sustainable for the hub concessionaires and for the farmers.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY ROAD MAP IMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE

Introduction. The declaration of the sustainable development goals and the conclusion of the Paris agreement on climate change have radically changed the existing approaches to the use of natural resources, which has led to the formation of principles for the formation of safe and sustainable development of society. The linear model of the economy is exhausting its potential, necessitating the transition to a circular economy. A circular economy based on a systematic approach to the efficient use of end-of-life resources, products and materials is not discarded, but is recycled, repaired or reused through circular value-added chains. The purpose of the article is to scientifically substantiate strategic priorities and means of realization of the road map of inclusive circular economy of Ukraine as one of models of the expanded variant of global circular economy. Results. The connection between the goals of sustainable development and the possibil­ities of forming a circular environment in Ukraine for the period up to 2030, which are guide­lines for the development of projects and regulations to ensure a balanced economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development of Ukraine. Emphasis is placed on solving the issue of consumption in the circular chain in the areas of local collection, creation of food hubs and outsourcing recycling. The role of extended responsibility for the acceptance of returned products and waste remaining after the use of such products of the manufacturer as a necessary element in the formation of the circular policy of Ukraine. The key barriers to the adaptation of the circular economic environment in Ukraine (lack of expert environment; weak legal framework; lack of legislation and lobbying by large companies; ignorance of the problems of waste sorting, circular economy), based on the myths and realities of the secondary raw ma­terials market Ukraine. The Road map of circular economy for introduction in Ukraine is devel­oped, with the allocated steps: definition of potential of the country in this branch; establishing the level of ambition in the coordinated activities of stakeholders and focusing on a common direction; identification of target industries with a focus on their capabilities; sectoral readiness for circular policy; priority and detail of opportunities; quantitative impact; identification of barri­ers; formation of institutional structure.