Doctoral Dissertation Research: Urban Food System Alternatives

SES-1128905Phil BrownMercedes C.在过去的十年里，当地的替代食品运动已经被讨论作为解决社会问题的一部分，如公共卫生问题的肥胖流行病，环境恶化和经济稳定。然而，随着这一社会运动变得越来越受欢迎和可见，有人批评说，在农贸市场购物、加入食品合作社或参与城市园艺等活动是中产阶级和上层阶级公民的奢侈品，他们有时间、知识和资源参与这一运动。 贫困劳动者和少数民族等弱势公民获得优质食物的机会仍然较少，因此健康状况也较差。虽然有关于如何最好地保持一个人的健康的共同信息，这是食品系统替代品的一部分，如何鼓励不同的公民“寻求健康”的差异。本研究的目标是调查是否以及如何使用替代社区食品举措来解决健康不平等问题，这些举措如何根据目标受众的社会阶层，种族和性别而有所不同，反过来，这些不同的人群如何参与和/或寻求改变当地社区的传统和替代食品系统。 本研究将探讨替代食品活动的不同制度空间（食品政策理事会、农贸市场和城市花园）如何以不同的方式吸引参与者，权力如何行使，以及阻力点在哪里。更广泛的影响这项研究的结果将通过联邦机构影响地方、州或国家一级的食品政策。它们可能有助于改善与粮食有关的非营利组织的工作，更适当地满足弱势群体的需要，并可能对社区改善和赋权产生更广泛的影响。

SES-1128905Phil BrownMercedes C. LysonBrown UniversityABSTRACTDoctoral Dissertation Research: Urban Food System Alternatives In the past decade, the local alternative food movement has been discussed as part of the solution to social problems, such as public health concerns about an obesity epidemic, environmental degradation, and economic stability. Yet, as this social movement has become more popular and visible, there has been criticism that activities, such as shopping at Farmers' Markets, belonging to food cooperatives, or participating in urban gardening are a luxury of middle and upper-class citizens who have the time, knowledge, and resources to be part of this movement. Disadvantaged citizens, such as the working poor, and racial/ethnic minorities, continue to have less access to quality food, and subsequently poorer health outcomes. Although there are common messages about how to best maintain one's health that are part of food system alternatives, how different citizens are encouraged to "seek health" varies. The goal of this research is to investigate whether and how alternative community food initiatives are used to address health inequalities, how these initiatives vary according to the social class, race, and gender of the targeted audience,and in turn, how these different populations engage with and/or seek to transform both the conventional and alternative food systems in their local communities. This research will investigate how different institutional spaces of alternative food activities (a food policy council, farmers' markets, and an urban garden) engage participants in different ways, how power is exercised, and where points of resistance lie. Broader ImpactResults from this research stand to influence food policy at the local, state, or national level through federal agencies. They may help to improve the work of food-related non-profit organizations to more appropriately serve the needs of vulnerable populations, and they could have broader impacts on community betterment and empowerment.