CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN COMMUNITY-LED FOOD JUSTICE MODELS

• Main Author: Cuellar, Teya
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2019
• Subjects: community-led food justice; food justice models; Civic and Community Engagement; Food Security
• Online Access: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cld_etds/49; https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1054&context=cld_etds

Non-profits that do community-led food justice work with lower income communities face particular constraints and opportunities. This study examined those constraints and opportunities through participant observation of one such organization and interviews with four other organizations. Findings include the diversity of definitions for “community-led,” assets that can help or constrain the organization, and diversity in defining “scaling up” their organization models and missions. The organizations that heavily focused on lower income consumers noted tensions with the board of the non- profit and lack of engagement of consumers. I conclude by critiquing using language such as “models,” “scaling up,” or “replicating” when doing community-led food justice with lower income communities. I propose using the “scaling deep” framework (Moore, Riddell & Vocisano, 2015) and using Social Network Analysis as a tool for community development and developing alternative food initiatives with lower income individuals and communities.