from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
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JAFSCD is the world’s only community-supported journal. JAFSCD content is open access (free) thanks to the generous support of our shareholders: the JAFSCD Shareholder Consortium, Library Shareholders, a growing number of Individual Shareholders, and our seven JAFSCD Partners: |
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Farmers are interested in donating crops, but need more support |
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JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Caitlin Ceryes (Towson U), Kathryn Heley (John Hopkins U), Danielle Edwards (John Hopkins U), Chergai Gao-Rittenberg (John Hopkins U), Leah Seifu (John Hopkins U), Saifra Khan Sohail (John Hopkins U), and Roni Neff (Johns Hopkins U) |
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In 2021, roughly one in ten U.S. households struggled to access adequate and nutritious food consistently, and 600,000 people experienced food insecurity in the state of Maryland. As food pantries and food banks who serve these populations prioritize distributing fresh foods, crop donation has been promoted as a “win-win” for both sustainability of the food system and healthy food access.
In a new JAFSCD article entitled “’We need a better system’: Maryland crop growers’ perspectives on reducing food loss through donation,” the authors present findings from an exploratory qualitative research study documenting crop growers’ perspectives about donation processes and policies in Maryland during 2016–2017. “By interviewing both frequent and infrequent donors, we provide new perspectives not yet documented in the literature,” says Caitlin Ceryes. “While infrequent donors were interested in donating crops, they explained that donating without immediate, market-rate compensation undermines their operations’ profitability and longevity. Our findings highlight the need to take a broader view of donation as not just an opportunity to benefit emergency food recipients, but also to create a more sustainable and just food system for food producers.”
KEY FINDINGS - Both frequent and infrequent crop donors voiced the need to prioritize donation interventions that support struggling growers' economic stability.
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Frequent donors often differed from infrequent donors in their perceptions of donation feasibility, familiarity and costs; infrequent donors questioned the expectation that they donate crops in a system that does not prioritize their interests.
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Growers' suggestions to improve crop donation acceptability and access to include improved financial support; reliable and trained field gleaners; education interventions; process and logistical improvements; and clarification of the existing state and federal donation-related policies.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH - While many crop growers desire to donate crops, the costs, inconvenience, and concerns about liability present challenges. Interventions should make donation more convenient and economically advantageous for crop growers. More research is needed to evaluate donation programming and explore opportunities to support both donations and growers' financial well being.
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Photo above: Whitelock Community Farm in Baltimore, where Maryland Conservation Steward Kimberly Raikes hosted a “Careers in Conservation” farmer learning event on July 11, 2022. The event focused on showcasing opportunities for urban farmers and college age students. USDA/FPAC photo by Preston Keres.
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Increasing Access to Food Systems Literature — Please Take Quick Survey!
The Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems, publisher of JAFSCD, is considering partnering with kindred journals and organizations to create a free, keyword-searchable online database of curated scholarly and grey literature on food and farming topics.
Food system grey literature such as project reports, white papers, and feasibility studies are not indexed or retrievable, but represent valuable knowledge.
The goal is to make finding useful information on food systems more convenient for academics, NGO and extension staff, consultants, activists, students, program planners, grant writers, and food system funders.
We would like stakeholder feedback on this idea in the early stages of development. Please take 2-3 minutes to take the anonymous survey. Share with your colleagues and networks, too!
Question? Contact project director Dr. Tricia Jenkins or JAFSCD editor in chief Duncan Hilchey.
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