Local Value Chain Models of Healthy Food Access: A Qualitative Study of Two Approaches

Abstract

Food value chains are increasingly recognized as more equitable alternatives to traditional supply chains and may represent a novel mechanism to achieve health equity at the local level. Country Fresh Stops (CFS) and Donation Station (DS) are two complementary programs that are part of a more robust value chain designed to support local agriculture in Appalachia Ohio. As the first study of these programs in the peer-reviewed literature, the objectives were to identify factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of these two local value chain models of healthy food access and to identify the perceived impacts from the perspective of the sites implementing them. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with CFS (n = 7) and DS (n = 10) site representatives in January 2020. Template analysis was used to identify themes through a priori and inductive codes. Participants identified two primary facilitators: support from partner organizations and on-site program stewardship. Produce (and program) seasonality and mitigating food waste were the most cited challenges. Despite challenges, both CFS and DS sites perceive the models to be successful efforts for supporting the local economy, achieving organizational missions, and providing consumers with greater access to locally grown produce. These innovative programs demonstrate good feasibility, but long-term sustainability and impacts on other key stakeholders merit further investigation.

Bioactivity of Grape Skin from Small-Berry Muscat and Augustiatis of Samos: A Circular Economy Perspective for Sustainability

“…In this approach, the effort to exploit winemaking by-products, such as wine grape skins, in the North Aegean region offers the Greek islands of the North Aegean a tool for both economic development and public health prevention. This is consistent with recent research presenting that food value chains are widely realized as more fair alternatives to conventional supply networks [27][28][29][30].…”

Technological innovation in agri-food supply chains

“…On the demand side, the scepticism from consumers towards traditional industrial supply chains (Gunarathne et al. , 2018; Krzyzanowski Guerra et al. , 2021).…”

“…According to Renting et al (2009) and Wiskerke et al (2003), the rise of AFNs can be traced back to two main reasons. On the demand side, the scepticism from consumers towards traditional industrial supply chains (Gunarathne et al, 2018;Krzyzanowski Guerra et al, 2021). On the supply side, a key element is the small producers' desire to experiment with alternative supply chain models, not dominated by large distribution and retail groups that dictate market prices and absorb the largest profit shares (Van Der Ploeg et al, 2000).…”