This research examines the extent to which a Farm-to-Table restaurant prompted social and ecological changes in the food system. Chefs and restaurants are uniquely positioned to both generate consumer interest in certain foods and motivate farmers to grow such products. Despite their central role in Alternative Food Networks (AFNs), the influence of restaurants on farming practices and the re-localization of food sourcing is under-explored. In this research, we used archival document review, interviews, surveys, and social network mapping to understand the mechanisms by which direct market connections between farmers and the Chez Panisse restaurant grew over time and influenced farmers' growing practices. Founded in Berkeley by Alice Waters in 1971, Chez Panisse is frequently credited with pioneering the Farm-to-Table model and spurring the slow, local, and organic food movements.Our study suggests that Chez Panisse inspired farmers toward more sustainable agriculture practices, but the restaurant was not the only influential actor in the network. We found that local food hub managers and the restaurant's "foragers" were key intermediaries. Our findings demonstrate that social embeddedness in AFNs is pertinent to fostering sustainable agriculture, the long-term survival of network actors, and network growth.
Local food systems are growing, and little is known about how the constellation of farms and markets change over time. We trace the evolution of two local food systems (Baltimore County, Maryland and Chester County, Pennsylvania) over six years, including a dataset of over 2690 market connections (edges) between 1520 locations (nodes). Longitudinal social network analysis reveals how the architecture, actor network centrality, magnitude, and spatiality of these supply chains shifted during the 2012–2018 time period. Our findings demonstrate that, despite growth in the number of farmers’ markets, grocery stores, farms and restaurants in both counties, each local food system also experienced high turnover rates. Over 80% of the market connections changed during the study period. Farms, farmers’ markets, and grocery stores showed a 40–50% ‘survival’ rate, indicating their role in sustaining local food systems over longer time periods. Other actors, such as restaurants, had a much higher turnover rate within the network. Both food systems became more close-knit and consolidated as the center of gravity for both local food systems pulled away from urban areas toward rural farmland. Evidence of both growth and decay within local food systems provides a new understanding of the social networks behind local food markets.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.