Local Food, Food Democracy, and Food Hubs

Abstract

In western North Carolina, where we and others have been working to build local food systems for the last 15 years, food hubs are part of an expanding network of local food distribution infrastructure intended to help the region's smaller local farms access larger, more mainstream market outlets. The impact of food hubs on the region's evolving food system, however, is contradictory. At the same time that food hubs further the development of local food supply chains and create market opportunities for farms, they can also run contrary to the bigger and longer-term goals of the local food movement. In this viewpoint article, we look critically at the role of nonprofit food hubs in efforts to build local food systems. Speaking from our experiences in the local food movement in western North Carolina and drawing from social movements and food systems scholarship, we argue that food hubs, when used as primary mechanisms of local food system building, can deprive the movement of its capacity to activate broad participation in the food system. We argue that efforts to build local food systems need a foundation of work that engages people (such as farmers, citizens, people who work in the food industry) in processes that can shape the practices, values, and impacts of systems of food production and distribution. While they can mitigate the mismatch between the smaller scale typical of local food and larger mainstream markets, food hubs alone cannot challenge industry norms and practices, and they can even aid the food industry in maintaining the status quo.

The Effects of Online Video on Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Local Food

“…In contrast to research that found local food can bring people in their community together and generate positive social changes (Berlin, Brooks-Gunn, & Aber, 2011;Kato, 2014;NorbergHodge et al, 2002;Perrett, & Jackson, 2015), this study did not find that strengthening social connection was an effective message frame for producing favorable attitudes toward local food. This finding may be an outcome of the indirect and less tangible nature of the concept of the social benefits of bringing people in a community together compared to the concepts of higher food quality and economic benefits.…”

“…Although this study found that a message frame featuring strengthening social connection in a short, online video format was ineffective, previous literature documented consumers' appreciation of social events and the sense of social togetherness local food brought to a community (Norberg-Hodge et al, 2002), and the potential of local food to develop social awareness and democracy (Kato, 2014;Perrett & Jackson, 2015). Further research should explore strategies to communicate the social impact of local food, perhaps not through short videos, but through documentaries, books, workshops, or conferences.…”

“…A local food market brings together people with different interests and different social economic statuses. Such social togetherness enables people in the community to have a broader social awareness, to build connections with one another, to enhance the place they live, and to foster positive social changes (Kato, 2014;Perrett, & Jackson, 2015).…”

Building Sustainable Communities Through Food Hubs: Practitioner and Academic Perspectives

“…Food hubs tend to emerge from a regional context to meet the needs of a specific group of people rooted to a particular place. In most cases, they are based on a general desire to contest the dictates of the corporate, industrial food system and create collective solutions that meet one or more specific needs (Berti & Mulligan, 2016;Perrett & Jackson, 2016;Stroink & Nelson, 2013). Many have physical locations where food is aggregated, processed and/or distributed, while others use internet technology to connect members.…”

“…In this literature, some scholars have questioned the ability of food hubs to meet food-system-change goals. Perrett and Jackson (2016) argue that food hubs are important for linking local food and mainstream markets, but they "alone cannot challenge industry norms and practices, and they can even aid the food industry in maintaining the status quo" (p. 2).…”