Measuring the Size, Scope, and Location of Civil Society Organizations in Johannesburg's Food System

Methodological Challenges in Urban Food Systems Research: Case Study of Local Food Institutions in South Africa

“…It remains unclear how informal livelihood strategies operate in conjunction with or against the state and food businesses, as urban residents utilize a range of the informal livelihood strategies at the micro-scale to counteract broader social processes [15]. Given the dynamic nature of these informal activities and the complex institutional context in which these social processes operate, it is crucial for scholars to develop methods which can generalize about the size, scope, and location of such activities [4] and follow the development of local processes in relation to broader structural processes [22,23].…”

“…Given that the methodological details of previously completed studies are discussed elsewhere (see [4,5,17,23]), the purpose of the following sections is to critically examine the key gaps in urban food systems and the consequences of these gaps on current and future urban food systems research and policy. According to scholars, the state is one of the principal institutions in the urban food system, as it operates and manages food policy, trade laws, food regulations, and food assistance programs [14,24].…”

“…Key methodological issues included race, class, privacy, language, and lack of formal identifiers. Future data needs include quantitative and spatial metrics on organization location and structure and qualitative analysis of informal food networks [4,5].…”

“…Primarily, these centers are in the cash economy, with formal food vendors, such as supermarkets and food retailers, as well as street vendors, spazas, small shops, and more informal markets key to food access. In addition, governments provide food through national, provincial, or municipal food programs [14], and CSOs manage local food pantries, creches, soup kitchens, community gardens, and other local food movements [4,5,10]. Households also engage in a variety of more informal food practices to ensure access to food [1,8].…”

“…Through qualitative, quantitative, and spatial methods, I have conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, multiple surveys, years of ethnography, and statistical and spatial analysis [4,5].…”