Strategies for Supporting
Sustainable Food Systems
Session 6
Local Farmers’ Markets
Positives
Challenges
• Healthy and fresh food.
• Strengthens local
economy.
• Direct profit for farmers
• Community interaction;
grows trust.
• Seasonal eating follows
a natural ecological
cycle.
• Zoning regulations: can
effect growing or selling of
food.
• Seasonality: markets may
operate only part of the year.
• Real estate development:
Farmland sold for
developments.
• Economics: Policy that favors
large commodity farming.
Urban Gardening
Positives
• Access to fresh food for
people living in urban areas.
• Strengthens local economy.
• Physical exercise.
• Intergenerational
knowledge exchange and
learning.
• Strengthens community;
grows trust and
interdependence based on
relationships.
• Recovery of healthy soils.
Challenges
• Contaminated soil
• Zonings regulations: can
effect growing/selling of
food.
• Access to equipment.
• Knowledge: gardening,
farming experience, soil
revitalization.
• Water is expensive.
Community Supported Agriculture
(CSAs)
Positives
• Supports local farms;
economic partnership.
• Direct ties between
producer and consumer;
knowledge of how food
was grown.
• Management is done
collectively.
• Distribution style can vary
to serve the local
community.
Challenges
• Consumer adjustment to
eating seasonally;
knowledge of how to cook
with new produce.
• Risks of poor weather and
other factors that can
impact harvest.
• Prices may be higher than
grocery stores.
• Farm capacity to maintain
records/management.
Farm to Schools programs
Positives
Challenges
• Supports local economy.
• Healthy food for schools.
• Students have an
opportunity to learn from
the farmer and farm.
• Schools and local farmers
build relationships.
• Distribution: Food and safety
regulations differ state to
state.
• Preparation: Produce comes
uncut and not portioned out.
• Government subsidies for
pre-existing lunch programs
can impact a schools ability
to purchase and the need. ?
• Large quantities of produce
can be hard to acquire at
one time from local farms.
Fair Trade
Positives
• No use of pesticides, child
labor, genetically modified
organisms, and exploitive
working conditions.
• Supports small farmers and
cooperatives; a fair wage is
paid for what is purchased.
• Direct relationship between
importer and grower or
cooperative.
• Products are available all
year round.
Challenges
• Consumer awareness.
• Access: many mainstream
food suppliers do not supply
Fair Trade products.
• Fair Trade can be costly
• Packaging is necessary.
• Fair Trade can require miles
of transportation.
Organic
Positives
Challenges
• No use of genetically
modified organism.
• Access is becoming more
widely available.
• Greatly decreases the
use of pesticides,
herbicides, and
fungicides.
• Can help to conserve
healthy farmland.
• Seasonal and regional.
• Large organic productions
can threaten smaller more
localized organic productions.
• Large scale distribution uses
heavy fuels.
• Transitioning into organic
farming practices can take
years and pose high
economic risk for farmers.
• Price and availability.
Pasture Raised Animals
Positives
• Better quality of life for
animals.
• Often from a local farm.
• Can support the health of
surrounding ecosystems.
• Quality of meat and dairy
can be improved.
• No use of hormones and
antibiotics can help
improve water systems
around farmland.
Challenges
• Overgrazing can degrade
the natural habitat and
stress the ecosystem.
• Deforestation: Forests are
cleared for grazing.
• Consumer expectation:
Consumption of pasture
raised meat can mean a
decrease in the amount of
meat in diets.