Understanding and supporting intermediation work to address territorialized public policy issues: The case of a Territorial Food Project in France

BACKGROUND

Few ergonomics studies have explored the work required to implement territorialized public policies.

OBJECTIVE

To identify key challenges for ergonomists who analyse and support intermediation work taking place in the design and implementation of a Territorial Food Project or TFP (a public policy device).

METHODS

We adapted a framework developed in the field of political sociology. The analysis focuses on two scales to identify key characteristics of intermediation work: the agri-urban area as delimited and targeted by the TFP; and the farm and its relationships to food systems. To capture how intermediation work articulates prescription and action, we studied first the work carried out by the actors to use a public policy device such as TFP, and second the evolving farming work systems' connections to food systems and how they are supported by various actors.

RESULTS

Intermediation work is spread across a wide diversity of actors. Coordination at governance level aims to allocate resources among institutional actors and to check the progress of the elaborated action plan. Coordination at operational level, which is meant to support farming work system dynamics or to implement the action plan, focuses on fostering the emergence of initiatives but seems to lack a shared vision and time availability.

CONCLUSION

We identify two main challenges: to further develop a framework for analysing the intermediation work occurring in a multi-scale and territorial perspective; and to develop new intervention methods so that ergonomists can take part in and support such intermediation work.

Assessing Sustainability Priorities of U.S. Food Hub Managers: Results from a National Survey

Food hubs have emerged as innovative alternatives to the conventional United States food system. As aggregators of small local farms, food hubs hold the potential to transform food production, distribution, and consumption, while fostering environmental sustainability and social equity. However, assessing their contributions to environmental sustainability and social equity is challenging due to the diverse structures and practices of U.S. food hubs. This study presents the findings of a national survey of food hub managers conducted in 2022 to assess the sustainability objectives and practices of food hubs across the United States. Our survey questions were designed based on a comprehensive framework of social and environmental sustainability criteria. Our results reveal that food hubs make valuable contributions in supporting small producers and providing healthy local food options. However, there is room for improvement in their environmental sustainability practices, as they only meet 47% of the defined environmental sustainability goals. Addressing food insecurity is a high priority for food hubs, although not their top priority, and many offer fresh food access to low-income households. Food hubs also contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing food transportation, promoting healthy food production methods, and minimizing waste. While food hubs meet 67% of the defined social sustainability goals, there are opportunities for improvement in reaching important institutional stakeholders and enhancing consumer education on healthy nutrition and lifestyles. Expanding technical assistance for farmers is also critical. By addressing these opportunities for improvement, food hubs can drive progress towards a more resilient and equitable food system in the United States.

Community Supported Agriculture, Human Capital, and Community Health

Community supported agriculture (CSA) strengthens the local food system (LFS) and plays a critical role in promoting human capital (HC) and addressing social determinants of health (SDH). Most CSAs develop relationships that build a sense of community, and engage in activities that facilitate access to food and economic opportunities. CSAs may also contribute to personal development, education and income, working experience, and knowledge. CSA principles align with the principles of HC, specifically the pursuit of economic development. While research on the connection between CSA and HC has broadly focused on the economic aspect, the human development dimension has remained at the conceptual level. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential HC contributions by CSA and the implications for health outcomes in central/northern New Mexico. Primary and secondary data were collected through a semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire and an internet search. Purposive sampling was used to select 13 CSAs. Eight (61.5%) responded and reported activities that address HC and SDH such as training, job creation, education, access to healthy food, food security, health education and disease management, social connections, and food justice. Given the potential impact, public health must contribute to CSA by generating evidence on its health and social benefits, training practitioners on supporting local food program, and promoting policy that stimulates the local economy, fosters social relations and food justice, and empowers community members. This study calls for research and practice to take a multilevel perspective on the contribution of LFSs to equity and wellbeing.

Innovative Digital Technologies for Purchasing and Consumption in Urban and Regional Agro-Food Systems: A Systematic Review

The use of digital technologies in the agro-food sector is growing worldwide, and applications in the urban and regional food systems represent a relevant segment of such growth. The present paper aims at reviewing the literature on which and how digital technologies support urban and regional agro-food purchasing and consumption, as well as their characteristics. Data collection was performed on Scopus and Web of Science. Articles were selected using a research string and according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow approach was adopted to explain data screening and selection. The 57 resulting studies were included in the final qualitative analysis, which explored the characteristics of the research studies and of the digital technologies analysed. Most of the studies analysed concerned the implications of digital technologies on local food consumption, especially focusing on consumption, primary production and hotel-restaurant-café-catering sector (HORECA), and to a limited extent on the retail sector. Consumers and farmers are the main targets of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools, whose principal aims are providing information on agro-food products and enhancing networking along the food supply chain. Analysing digital technologies allows a better understanding of their most popular features in order to support their spread among citizens. Digital technologies, and particularly Apps, can be a valuable instrument to strengthen agro-food chain actor relations and to promote urban and regional food systems.

Traditional foods and food systems: a revision of concepts emerging from qualitative surveys on-site in the Black Sea area and Italy

BACKGROUND

The European FP7 BaSeFood project included a traditional food study contextually analysing their function in local food systems to stimulate consumers' awareness and indicate co-existence options for different scale exploitation. Background concepts were (1) the available traditional foods definitions; (2) the theoretical background of food quality perceptions; and (3) the different levels of food functions.

METHODS

Field investigations were carried out by face-to-face in-depth qualitative interviews with local stakeholders, in the Black Sea region and Italy, on all aspects of traditional food production chains: raw materials, products, processes and perceptions. Critical and intercultural comparisons represented the basis of data analysis.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and thirty-nine foods were documented. The direct experience perception of traditional food value observed in local contexts is somewhat contrasting with the present European tendency to communicate traditional food nature through registration or proprietary standards. Traditional foods are generally a combination of energetic staples with other available ingredients; their intrinsic variability makes the definition of 'standard' recipes little more than an artefact of convenience; cross-country variations are determined by available ingredients, social conditions and nutritional needs. Commercial production requires some degree of raw material and process standardisation. New technologies and rules may stimulate traditional food evolution, but may also represent a barrier for local stakeholders. A trend to work within supply chains by local stakeholders was detected. Specific health promoting values were rarely perceived as a fundamental character. The stable inclusion of traditional food systems in present food supply chains requires a recovery of consumers' awareness of traditional food quality appreciation.