Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

IN THIS ISSUE: Toward sustainable diets

Duncan Hilchey — 2026-10-19

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In this issue, we explore the emerging food systems subfield of sustainable diets, with a focus on community needs and aspirations, especially among vulnerable populations. First coined by Gussow and Clancy (1986), the JAFSCD Sustainable Diets Editorial Circle (SDEC) defines the term sustainable diets as dietary patterns that promote individual and population health and well-being while having low environmental impacts; are culturally affirming, affordable, safe, nutritionally robust, and attainable for all; and contribute to resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems for present and future generations. This definition is adapted from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (FAO & WHO, 2019).

Reflecting the sustainable diets theme, our cover features community members in Nunavik, Northern Québec, Canada, mapping food sources and pathways and exploring household food-access decisions under different scenarios. Read more in Challenges and complexities in Northern food systems: Mapping food access and decision-making in Nunavik by Samantha Farquhar and colleagues. . . .

VALUE CHAIN COORDINATION COLUMN: Bridging margin and mission

Anaya L. Hall — 2026-10-15

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My local grocery cooperative has an informal motto of “No Margin, No Mission.” This pithy expression, likely familiar to many JAFSCD readers and community development practitioners, is a catchy shorthand for the financial reality that business viability is a necessary prerequisite for fulfilling an organization’s social and/or environmental mission (Diamond & Barham, 2011). Working in local and regional food systems, I find this simple mantra helpfully summarizes the dual-bottom-line challenge of supporting thriving, resilient regional food economies that can simultaneously support farmers, their environment, and the communities they feed.

Value chains are food supply chains that link agricultural producers with markets, adding economic value throughout. As I have written in this column previously (Hall et al., 2026), value chains may also prioritize the core mission of farm viability, ecological sustainability, and access to healthy foods or other community benefits. Value chains are facilitated by relational infrastructure, provided by networks of coordinators that hold strategic partnerships and actively foster win-win relationships across participants within the supply chain. Value chains struggle to perform, however, unless the businesses along the chain are fiscally functional and the relational infrastructure connecting them is adequately resourced. The relationship runs both ways: coordination helps enable fair returns, and those returns in turn sustain the businesses and relationships that create further value. . . .

Identifying characteristics of first-time use of charitable community food resources during the COVID-19 pandemic

Curtis Antrum — 2026-10-07

While national trends in food insecurity prevalence were unchanged in the early COVID-19 pandemic, evidence suggests that millions of people sought food assistance from charitable community sources for the first time during this period. Understanding the characteristics of first-time users of charitable community food resources may inform future emergency food system responses. This study aimed to identify sociodemographic, household, and food access–related factors associated with first-time use of charitable community food resources among low-wage workers in 2020. We conducted a secondary analysis of 2020 data from the Wage$ Study, a cohort of low-wage workers in Raleigh, North Carolina (NC), and Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN). Participants (N = 565) reported their sociodemographic characteristics, experiences of personal and household hardships, food access disruptions, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and use of charitable community food resources (defined as food pantries and soup kitchens) during stay-at-home orders from March 2020 to June 2020. To examine multilevel factors associated with first-time use of charitable community food resources, we used descriptive statistics, classification tree analysis, and logistic regression. The prevalence of first-time use of charitable community food resources was 29.0%. Classification tree analysis identified older age, race/ethnicity, receipt of church assistance, and encountering out-of-stock foods at one’s local grocery store as key factors associated with first-time use. Logistic regression revealed that SNAP participants had higher odds of first-time community resource use compared with nonparticipants. Charitable food programs were important for low-wage workers experiencing barriers to food access during the early pandemic. Strengthening both charitable food systems and federal nutrition programs may improve emergency food access during future crises.

Agricultural knowledge, place, and production in The Almond Paradox

Stacey F. Stearns — 2026-10-03

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Almonds are a controversial crop in the U.S.; many decry the trees’ thirst in water-stressed California, where most global almond production occurs (Gonzales, 2015; Palmer et al., 2024; Pollan, 2007; Reisman, 2019). But this is only part of the story. Emily Reisman examines how different agricultural, political, place, and environmental contexts shape our understanding of what almond trees “need,” comparing intensive almond production in California with Spain’s traditional rainfed systems in her 2025 book, The Almond Paradox: Cracking Open the Politics of What Plants Need.

Dramatic increases in almond production have also led to steady, higher demand for the product, fueled by marketing investments from the grower association. Almonds are no longer a seasonal holiday food and instead are eaten year-round with many uses. These market demands have shaped almonds as a major agricultural crop in California’s Central Valley, creating new challenges for food and environmental systems. . . .

Africonnections: Seeds of memory, roots of survival

Elisabeth Q. Ramsey — 2026-10-02

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Through Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants, and People of African Descent Have Shaped American Agriculture, Michael Carter Jr. is building a bridge that many Black, African, and African American farmers, agriculturists, and future generations have long been waiting for—a bridge that makes it possible to see ourselves reflected in agricultural spaces. Myself included. This is not easy work. With the records of those kidnapped and enslaved in the Americas missing, fragmented, or deliberately erased, the work of reconnecting begins with the seeds that traveled here through the hands and knowledge of the enslaved.

The plants that grow in American soil tell a story of violence, but they also tell a story of resilience, fortitude, and deep agronomic knowledge. My ancestors, Carter Jr.’s ancestors, and the ancestors of countless Black Americans came here against their will and endured unimaginable suffering. Yet, through narratives like Carter Jr.’s, their stories live again. They reveal how the knowledge and labor of enslaved Africans shaped American agriculture, even as colonizers refused to acknowledge the depth of their expertise or the fullness of their humanity. . . .

From fields to markets: Diversification case studies in the U.S. Corn Belt via a social-ecological systems lens

Katherine O. Pivaral Toledo — 2026-10-02

Agricultural diversification is increasingly recognized as a systems-level strategy that enhances sustainability, resilience, and adaptability of agricultural and food systems under global environmental and market pressures. This research delves into the dynamics, opportunities, challenges, and key success drivers associated with agricultural diversification in the U.S. Midwest—a region historically dominated by corn–soybean rotations—through the lens of the social-ecological systems (SES) framework. Focusing on the integration of oats, wheat, and peas into existing systems, we employed a case study methodology combining theoretical, empirical, and contextual inquiry. Data collection integrates primary and secondary sources, including semi-structured interviews and participation in field days, spanning October 2022 to February 2024. Interviews with 29 actors, including farmers, industry representatives, and members of agricultural cooperatives and nonprofits, provided insights into market opportunities for diversified agriculture systems. The findings highlight that diversification outcomes are co-shaped by ecological interactions, market dynamics, policy environments, and collaborative networks. The cross-case analysis demonstrates that farmer decision making, knowledge co-production, supply chain coordination, and farmer–Extension collaborations are central mechanisms that foster ecological resilience, expand market access, and stimulate innovation. Through the SES framework, this research provides a novel synthesis that advances understanding of agricultural diversification as a system-level transition pathway. Beyond the Midwestern U.S. context, this research contributes to the body of knowledge on how agricultural diversification is a system-level transformation process and to broader debates on agroecology, sustainability transitions, and food system resilience, offering insights to guide future research, policy, and practice.

Future-proofing the regional foodshed

Sarah Elton — 2026-10-02

During the winter, in countries like Canada, there is growing reliance on fresh fruits and vegetables imported from more southerly bioregions. The transcontinental supply chains that carry these foods are vulnerable to stochastic shocks, one extreme weather event or tariff dispute away from slowing or stopping. This vulnerability raises pressing questions of national food and nutrition security. However, can countries where winter weather slows or even stops production supply their own fruits and vegetables during this season? A common assumption is that a re-localized food supply in such regions would mean a winter diet of rutabaga and potato. Thus, we investigated what regionally grown produce is available for sale during the off-season at Canada’s largest wholesale food market, the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto. We conducted an interviewer-administered questionnaire with Ontario farmers and produce dealers to assess the social and environmental conditions that produce the current winter supply and the potential for scaling up local reliance on winter produce. From our findings, we argue that a winter supply can and does exist. We find that barriers that currently limit the off-season crop supply, and opportunities to expand it, are both ecological and economic. Factors influencing supply include crop varieties, storage technologies, and market characteristics. Our findings are pertinent to regions with an interest in future-proofing their food and nutrition security at a time of geopolitical realignment.

Urban farms represent highly heterogeneous environments, complicating on-farm food safety efforts

Daniel L. Weller — 2026-10-01

Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized for its capacity to mitigate food insecurity and to contribute to the development of more sustainable and equitable food systems, yet microbial and chemical pre-harvest food safety risks in urban farms remain underexplored in the United States. To address this gap, we surveyed 43 urban farms across 12 cities in three U.S. growing regions. Semi-structured interviews, field walk-throughs, and follow-up reviews of each farm’s social media presence were used to characterize farm practices and histories as well as grower perspectives on microbial and chemical hazards. Findings revealed substantial heterogeneity between and within farms. Many farms prioritized community empowerment, education, and food access. Growers frequently expressed concern about legacy chemical contamination but reported limited training or awareness of microbial hazards. Structural constraints, such as insecure land tenure, limited resources, reliance on volunteers and donated materials, and staff turnover, further complicated consistent implementation of food safety measures. Improving food safety outcomes in urban agriculture will require flexible, field-specific risk assessment, alongside policies and technical assistance that address both knowledge gaps and structural barriers facing urban growers.

Planning for the “new normal”: Farmworker support organizations’ experiences of climate change impacts and adaptation

Karie L. Boone — 2026-10-01

Farmworker support organizations (SOs) in central Washington state are experiencing climate change–related impacts. To understand the challenges these organizations are facing, how they observe tree-fruit farmworkers navigating these impacts, and what gaps exist in farmworker support, we carried out a multimethod qualitative case study, interviewing 24 staff from community health clinics and centers, community-based organizations, and research and training organizations. The analysis found that SOs are providing essential support related to climate change, and that need for these services in increasing. Several factors converge to make it challenging for SOs to effectively contribute to long-term, sustainable solutions: limited capacity, staff burnout and, in some cases, the fact that staff do not make the connection between increasing heat and smoke events and climate change. We propose that three principles could strengthen efforts to agree upon and implement long-term climate resilience strategies for the benefit of farmworkers’ health and safety and the sustainability of tree-fruit production: (1) addressing the systemic inequalities that contribute to farmworkers’ vulnerability, rather than focusing narrowly on individual preparedness and reducing exposure; (2) bringing together diverse players to propose solutions for protecting workers within the context of farm economic viability, so as to reduce the potential for unintended consequences to the tree-fruit production system; and (3) incorporating adaptive strategies that attend to how climate change impacts people differently, unevenly, and disproportionately.

Women as catalysts of rural transformation

Rika Reviza Rachmawati — 2026-09-30

Women play a crucial role in rural transformation in developing countries, but they face significant socio-economic, cultural, and structural barriers that hinder their full participation. Despite their contributions to agriculture and rural development, systemic inequities in access to resources, education, and decision making limit their potential as agents of change. Our research aims to analyze the challenges women face in rural transformation, identify opportunities for their empowerment, and propose actionable policy recommendations for gender-inclusive rural development. A systematic literature review was conducted using the Scopus and Web of Science databases, focusing on peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025. Using the PRISMA framework, 166 studies were selected from 499 studies across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. These major developing regions have rural populations reliant on agriculture, in which women play crucial roles but face gender barriers. Women face obstacles such as limited access to land, technology, credit, and markets, hindering their full contribution to sustainable food systems. Enabling factors such as capacity building, digital literacy, cooperative farming, and gender-transformative policies enhance women’s agency in food production. Empowering women through training, inclusive financing, and land rights improves productivity, food security, and sustainability. The findings highlight the need for inclusive rural policies, interdisciplinary collaboration, and gender-sensitive infrastructure to support women in agriculture. Integrating women into rural and food strategies is key to long-term sustainability. Future research should evaluate the impact and scalability of gender-inclusive policies in diverse rural contexts.