Assessing Access to Local Food System Initiatives in Fairbanks, Alaska

Authors

  • Alison M. Meadow University of Alaska Fairbanks

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.022.006

Keywords:

Alaska, Food Systems Planning, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Local Food Access

Abstract

Local food system initiatives are an increasingly popular attempt to address environmental and social-equity problems that seem to be inherent in the conventional global food system. However, relatively few studies have been undertaken to assess the ability of local food system initiatives to ameliorate these concerns. This study focuses on a community with food system vulnerabilities related to geographic isolation and a marginal agricultural climate that limits local food production. The study seeks to develop tools to test hypotheses important to this community and others: whether local foods can be as physically and economically accessible as conventional foods. Using spatial analysis and quantitative price comparisons, the study concludes that at this time, locally grown foods in Fairbanks, Alaska, are not as accessible as conventional foods. The tools applied in this study could be used elsewhere to develop a more robust literature on the impact of local food system initiatives on urban food systems.

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Author Biography

Alison M. Meadow, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Department of Anthropology/Resilience and Adaptation Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Alison Meadow is now in the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona, 715 North Park Avenue, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box 210156, Tucson, Arizona 85719 USA.

Published

2012-02-29

How to Cite

Meadow, A. M. (2012). Assessing Access to Local Food System Initiatives in Fairbanks, Alaska. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2(2), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.022.006