Agency in resilient local food systems

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.151.005

Keywords:

resilience, CLIMATED framework, sustainability/resilience index, SRI, poverty, Southern U.S.

Abstract

Introduction

How can resilience of local food systems be strengthened? Inwood et al. (2025) recommend the CLIMATED framework (Worstell, 2020; Worstell & Green, 2017), because it emphasizes social infra­structure that is modularly connected, conserva­tively innovative, redundant, and embraces change. However, while this framework highlights self-organization, it fails to fully recognize that resilient local food systems in developing regions are invari­ably catalyzed by the emergence of entrepreneurial agency—a pattern I’ve observed from my experi­ence with rural communities in the Delta (Arkan­sas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri Bootheel, Western Kentucky and Western Tennessee), Appa­lachia (Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and East Tennessee), and 41 developing countries. Might extant models of resilience underemphasize the urgency and purpose of agency (Burnett, 2023) in catalyzing resilience? . . .

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Author Biography

Jim Worstell, Resilience Project

Almyra, Arkansas

Dr. Christine M. Porter’s vision of the bench where friends and loved ones could visit her into the future inspired this linocut print, “An Invitation: Christine’s Bench in the Meadow,” by Shannon Conk

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Published

2025-11-03

How to Cite

Worstell, J. (2025). Agency in resilient local food systems. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 15(1), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.151.005

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2025): Winter 2025: Triple Rigor: Celebrating Christine Porter’s Work & Life

Section

Commentary

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Copyright (c) 2025 Jim Worstell

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