Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

Sociodemographic correlates of food security status among older adults in central Ohio

Lauren Roberson — 2026-07-22

Vacillating trends in the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) have been observed in the U.S. While a decline occurred post-pandemic, the cessation of government assistance programs in 2023 resulted in increased prevalence, particularly among older adults, at 5.6% nationally and 7.4% in central Ohio. FI among older adults is concerning due to its impact on morbidity and mortality. Knowledge of associated correlates within geographic regions is limited. Prevalence of FI can vary by region, and central Ohio has one of the highest FI prevalence rates among older adults in the U.S. For this study, a regional cross-sectional survey with stratified random sampling was utilized to inform future development of a typology for assessing FI risk. Older adults aged 50 and above who reside in one of eight counties in central Ohio were invited to participate. The final, regionally representative sample included 1,417 older adults. Data points were weighted to accurately depict the population distribution of the region. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation coefficients, and chi-square tests were utilized to examine differences between sociodemographic characteristics and food security status. We found the majority of participants who were very low food secure had the following characteristics: identified as a woman, were age 74 years or younger, were divorced, widowed, or single, earned an annual household income at or below US$39,999, had completed either some college but had not earned a degree or earned a high school diploma or GED, were either retired but not seeking work or disabled and unable to work, and lived in an urban region. Findings can inform tailored risk assessments, interventions, and referrals to community-based services and government assistance programs in central Ohio and across similar geographic regions.

Challenges and complexities in Northern food systems

Samantha Farquhar — 2026-07-21

The Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic are undergoing rapid ecological, social, and political transformations that profoundly affect local food systems. This study examines how households in Nunavik, Canada, navigate their complex, mixed subsistence and market-based food systems and identifies the factors shaping decision-making when selecting food sources. Specifically, this study asks: (1) What are the primary food acquisition sources for households, how are they accessed, and what challenges are faced? and (2) What key factors influence household decision-making in selecting food acquisition sources? Using a co-production of knowledge approach, participatory workshops were conducted with 17 community members from five Nunavik communities. Data included co-created conceptual food system maps, participant-placed preference cards, and facilitator notes from scenario-based discussions. Findings were subsequently validated in a follow-up community engagement session. Thematic qualitative analysis revealed that Nunavimmiut households draw on over 13 distinct food acquisition sources, ranging from direct harvesting and community freezers to grocery stores, family and friends, and increasingly, social media platforms that facilitate both sharing and informal markets. High costs of food and fuel, transportation barriers, time constraints, and other social factors emerged as persistent challenges. Income level and the presence of a skilled hunter strongly influenced decision strategies: low-income households without hunters relied heavily on community freezers and kin networks, while higher-income households accessed additional options such as buying country food from Inuit harvesters and southern grocery stores. These results underscore the adaptive capacity of Nunavik’s food systems alongside their sensitivity to economic and environmental disruptions. Further, these results point to the importance of addressing both structural barriers and digital access. Policies that enhance community freezers, transportation, food assistance programs, and culturally grounded digital tools can strengthen food security and resilience. This study highlights the value of interdisciplinary, community-based approaches that integrate cultural preferences, economic dimensions, and social networks in supporting Arctic food systems under conditions of rapid change.

THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER Breaking the cycles of co-optation

John Ikerd — 2026-07-16

The industrialization of agriculture has faced resistance in the U.S. since at least the early 1900s. The rise of organic agriculture in the 1940s, of sustainable agriculture in the 1990s, local foods in the early 2000s, and regenerative agriculture in the 2020s were all responses to growing concerns about the environmental, socioeconomic, and public-health consequences of industrial agriculture. One by one, each movement has been co-opted by industrial agriculture. With growing concerns about increasingly volatile weather, market prices, and input costs, “resilient agriculture” could be the next challenge to industrial agriculture.

The co-optation is likely to continue, unless there is a fundamental change in strategies for challenging industrial agriculture and whatever its descendants may be in the era of high-tech farming. First, mainstream producers, processors, or retailers have waited for farmers to develop niche markets for organic, sustainable, local, regenerative, or other anti-industrial products. When a niche becomes large enough to become a significant source of corporate profit, they find ways to redefine the concept to accommodate their industrial production systems. They then make the redefined product more conveniently available at prices that are unprofitable for authentic organic, sustainable, local, or regenerative producers and capture the market. . . .

Assessment of needs for produce safety educational resources for non–English-speaking growers in the Midwest

Angelina N. A. Adjetey — 2026-07-16

Refugee growers possess diverse agricultural knowledge, but they often face barriers to complying with U.S. produce safety practices due to language limitations and unfamiliarity with Food Safety Modernization Act standards. This study conducted a needs assessment using focus group interviews with advisory board members (n = 6) and refugee growers (n = 10) in Iowa and Kansas to evaluate produce safety knowledge and identify educational gaps. The interviews with advisory board members aimed to identify refugee populations, crop types, and training needs. The interviews with growers’ focus groups explored knowledge gaps regarding worker health and hygiene, biological soil amendments, and agricultural water safety. The interview transcripts were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. The findings revealed that refugee growers spoke various languages, including Swahili, Kirundi, Nepali, Burmese, Chin, and French. While refugee growers possessed basic knowledge of hygiene and food safety, they lacked understanding in key areas such as sources of contamination, visitor protocols, biological soil amendments, and water testing. We found that language barriers, limited access to training, and cultural differences further hinder effective produce safety compliance. Based on these findings, developing culturally relevant and linguistically tailored educational materials such as short-format, multilingual videos, and posters that reflect growers’ traditions and experiences was recommended. Making these resources accessible via platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube can enhance produce safety practices and support compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. This research highlights the importance of accessible training to promote produce safety, regulatory compliance, and sustainable agricultural practices among refugee growers.

IN THIS ISSUE Food systems and community well-being

Duncan Hilchey — 2026-07-02

First paragraphs:

The summer 2026 issue of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development presents a diverse collection of scholarship and commentary spanning food security, food safety, entrepreneurship, markets, governance, resilience, climate adaptation, Indigenous food sovereignty, and community development. Together, these contributions illustrate both the complexity of contemporary food systems, and the wide range of approaches researchers and practitioners are advancing to address persistent social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Our cover features the proposed Swineford Road Agrihood outside Richmond, Virginia, U.S., an ambitious collaboration among affordable housing, food justice, and community development organizations seeking to create a neighborhood centered on affordable homes, urban agriculture, and shared community space. As the project moved through the zoning process, however, it encountered repeated delays, shifting requirements, and growing conflict with local officials, leading project leaders to argue that the proposal had become entangled in broader questions of race, exclusionary land-use practices, and community self-determination. The case illustrates how efforts to integrate housing, farming, and social infrastructure into a single community vision can expose deeper tensions surrounding equity, governance, and the future of local development. (Planview image was provided by Duron Chavis.)

VALUE CHAIN COORDINATION COLUMN: Adaptive by design: Flexibility and resilience in regional food systems

Anaya L. Hall — 2026-07-02

First paragraphs:

Practitioners working in regional food systems know that volatility is the norm, not the exception. Market shifts, climate disruption, changing priorities of buyers and public agencies, and turbulent funding landscapes are defining features of operating in this space. Responding to these perennial fluctuations requires flexibility and adaptability, which is exactly where value chain coordination (VCC) shines. Coincidentally, those same attributes make VCC efforts much more complex to measure and study than conventional supply chain interventions.

Building and maintaining a value chain requires a complex set of actors, resources, and physical infrastructure that is coordinated to move identity-preserved food products from producers through intermediaries to final consumers. Appropriately sited and scaled built infrastructure (such as processing facilities, aggregation warehouses, and distribution trucks) is essential, but on its own is a blunt tool that is built for anticipated conditions and difficult to change. While physical infrastructure’s costs and timelines are fixed and legible to funders, investment in VCC is harder to pin down, and yet its long-term market impacts can be significant and far-reaching. . . .

A farmer-designed food assistance pilot program

Natalie L. Minton — 2026-06-26

The Mississippi Delta experiences persistent food insecurity, particularly among older adults. While produce prescription and food box programs have been implemented, they are often grant funded and difficult to sustain, and they typically exclude participants from the program design process. This pilot study used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to design and test a home-delivered food assistance program led by local farmers, serving homebound older adults in Quitman County, Mississippi. The project team partnered with the Happy Foods Project, a cooperative of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) farmers, to co-develop a six-month program providing culturally familiar produce, curated recipes, and weekly delivery. Twenty homebound older adults participated. Mixed methods were used, including participant and farmer surveys, in-depth interviews, and triangulated qualitative analysis. Participants and farmers reported high satisfaction with the program’s delivery, cultural relevance of foods, and strengthened community connections. Themes from the qualitative analysis were Community Connection, Innovative Approach, Financial Access, Participant Knowledge, and Health Behaviors. Farmers noted increased market access and guaranteed income. This pilot demonstrates that a farmer-led, CBPR-designed food assistance program can address barriers to healthy food access while supporting local agricultural livelihoods. Findings highlight the importance of centering participant and farmer input in program design, particularly in rural contexts. Future research should explore scalability and long-term impacts.

Reflections on 10 years of "An Annotated Bibliography on Structural Racism Present in the U.S. Food System"

Rachel E. Kelly — 2026-06-26

This paper is a reflective essay from the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (CRFS) on 10 years of writing and updating An Annotated Bibliography on Structural Racism Present in the U.S. Food System (ABSR). The ABSR provides a literature compilation of research, outreach, and opinion on structural racism in the U.S. food system for the practitioner, researcher, educator, and advocate. The authors of this paper provide a comprehensive overview of the ABSR, detailing its purpose, value, applications, and evolution. They also explain how the ABSR has been integrated into CRFS’s ongoing racial equity efforts. This publication concludes with learnings, outcomes, and opportunities that have emerged from the development and utilization of the ABSR.

Food bank member agencies’ orders change after implementation of culturally responsive labels and procuring practices

Cassandra J. Nguyen — 2026-06-25

The charitable food system serves an estimated one in seven adults in the U.S. (Feeding America, 2024). In many cases, this system is made up of a food bank (an organization with centralized procurement, management, and delivery systems) that in turn supplies local food agencies (food pantries) with a portion of their inventory. A common concern in food pantries is that they may not offer culturally appropriate foods to their clients. Initiatives at the food bank level provide opportunities to improve the cultural relevance of foods available in the charitable food system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether agencies were more likely to order culturally responsive foods (e.g., foods procured to align with cultural groups’ traditions or norms), and a greater number of unique culturally responsive items, after implementing procurement practices and labels in a central food bank’s online ordering system. A one-group pre- and post-test natural experiment utilized three 45-day phases: (1) Baseline: no changes to the ordering system; (2) Labeling: the introduction of labels in the ordering system to identify culturally responsive items; and (3) Procuring: introduction of foods procured to be culturally responsive to Eastern European and Hispanic/ Latinx clientele. Data from a central food bank based in Rochester, New York, included 31,958 items in 720 orders made by 274 unique member agencies (e.g., food pantries, soup kitchens, group homes) from January 16–May 31, 2024. The proportion of orders with culturally responsive items increased during the labeling (OR = 4.79, SE = 1.40, p < 0.0001) and procuring phases (OR = 19.96, SE = 7.16, p < 0.0001) when compared to the baseline phase. The proportion of culturally responsive items within agencies’ orders also increased during the labeling (β = 0.23, SE = 0.099, p = 0.019) and procuring phases (β = 0.81, SE = 0.092, p < 0.0001) in comparison to the baseline phase. Results suggest that culturally responsive initiatives taken at the food bank level can affect the foods ordered to be available in community-facing programs. Additional research can build on these findings to better align foods with community needs and address household food insecurity.

Understanding demand for agriculturally integrated neighborhoods:

M. Renée Umstattd Meyer — 2026-06-24

Agrihoods are residential communities intentionally designed around agriculture and green space to foster connections with food, nature, and neighbors. Despite their growing popularity, little is known about who is drawn to these developments or the amenities they value. This study examined the characteristics, health behaviors, and housing priorities of prospective agrihood homebuyers. From March to July 2024, adults interested in purchasing a home in a Fort Bend County, Texas, agrihood (N = 128) completed an online survey distributed through the developer’s marketing channels. Measures included sociodemographics, health behaviors (time spent in nature, amount of sleep, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption), housing priorities, and willingness to pay more or extend commutes for specific amenities. Respondents were predominantly female, racially and ethnically diverse, middle-income, and highly educated. Although many respondents reported health behaviors below national recommendations, they expressed interest in health-promoting amenities. Affordability, school quality, and proximity to important places and people emerged as key housing priorities, while most respondents indicated they would be willing to pay more or extend their commutes to gain access to opportunities for physical activity, nature, fresh produce, social spaces, and agricultural features. These findings suggest that agrihoods may not only attract individuals already engaged in healthy lifestyles but also those who view these environments as potential catalysts for positive behavior change. As such, agrihoods may represent a promising setting for embedding preventive health promotion into residential development. Longitudinal research is needed to determine whether relocation to an agrihood translates into measurable improvements in health outcomes.