Equitable food value chains through collaborative action [in an inequitable landscape]: Insights from Buffalo, New York

Micaela Lipman, Domonique Griffin, Erik Woyciesjes, Gabriella Hall and Samina Raja

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 2025, vol. 14, issue 1

Abstract: There is growing scholarly and practitioner interest in applying collective and place-based efforts to create equitable food systems. Drawing on com­munity coalition action theory (CCAT), this paper explores the potential for enhancing food equity through collaborative action across the food value chain. Through a case study of a collaborative initi­ative to promote equitable food systems, this paper documents the possibilities and pitfalls of collabo­rative, cohort-based efforts within the inequitable landscape of Buffalo, New York (NY). The paper relies on mixed-methods data that include key informant interviews, participant observations, and surveys of organizations that participated in the Buffalo Community Food System Grant program. Corroborating prior research, we find that initia­tives that seek to foster collective action offer unique possibilities for food equity, as well as some key limitations, especially within the context of a racialized food environment. Strengthening food systems by investing in relationships across food value chains opens new avenues for collec­tive action. To promote food equity, new forms of collective action, including functional relationships across the value chain, must address deeper struc­tural imbalances in the food system, such as those resulting from structural racism.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/362743/files/1297.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:joafsc:362743

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development from Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().