IN THE BUTTERNUT BIG TIME: FOOD HUBS, FARMERS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY AGRO-FOOD ECONOMIES

Food hubs, a new model of values-based agro-food enterprise, are promoted by their advocates as a means to simultaneously improve the livelihoods of small and mid-sized farmers, increase the social and environmental sustainability of the food system, and supply the ever increasing consumer demand for health, local food. Noting the contradictions embedded in the promise of simultaneously generating both social values and economic value, this study explores how goals of promoting positive social, economic, or environmental change are achieved and/or inhibited when implemented though marketbased activities. Through a series of three in-depth case studies of food hubs in the Southeastern United States, the three papers compiled in this dissertation investigate how food hubs work to realize abstract non-financial goals (e.g. ‘helping family farmers’, ‘promoting sustainable food systems’) through the mundane work of food aggregation and distribution. Particular attention is paid to the experiences of mid-sized farmers who participate in food hubs, and the historic, material, and subjective processes that influence the development of food hubs and their many stakeholders. Highlighting the tensions and negotiations inherent to the hybrid social-and-monetary work of food hubs, I assert the need for an analytical framework that can account for the more-than-financial dimensions of economic and ethical praxis. To that end, I draw on the theories of J.K. Gibson-Graham to suggest that food hubs are best understood as a form of post-capitalist enterprise situated within a community agro-food economy, wherein reciprocal and interdependent relationships are forged between new economic subjects through deliberate and ongoing negotiation of care via the process and outcomes of diverse economic activity

Preferred Knowledge Sources for Beginning Farmers: The Case of Kentucky

This article presents an analysis of preferred knowledge sources for beginning farmers and differences in knowledge networks between heritage and nonheritage farmers. The purpose of the analysis is to support the reassessment of training, technical assistance, and other needs of beginning farmers to be able to develop more precisely targeted training and educational programming for them. Data were drawn from a series of six listening sessions conducted across Kentucky from January through July 2013. We present three concluding recommendations for enhancing the relevance of Cooperative Extension by emphasizing its role as a connector of available resources to beginning farmers

Christian perceptions of Islam in Kenya: as expressed in written sources from 1998 to 2010

This thesis explores how Kenyan Christians perceive Islam and Muslims. The thesis approaches the problem by examining various Christian writings. Substantial and representative Christian literature was found in the form of scholarly writing, produced by Kenyan mainline Christians, and in the form of popular literature, produced by Kenyan Neo-Pentecostals. The historiography of Islam entering into Kenya; and a historical look at Christian-Muslim relations in Kenya, with particularly an examination of the recent debate over the inclusion of kadhi courts in the constitution, were also examined. The combination of the historical and the literary approach provides breadth into the examination of how Christians in Kenya perceive Islam and Muslims. After an analysis of the history and the texts, several themes that emerge from this analysis are examined from two perspectives. One, politically oriented themes are examined to understand how Kenyan Christians symbolically contest with Muslims over public space. It is seen that the symbolic contestation concerns the legitimacy to occupy roles in the nation-building project. Two, emerging theologies of religion are teased out of the writings to gain insight into the deeper theological structures from which Kenyan Christians operate as they seek to understand and interact with the religious Other (Islam). The thesis claims that the Kenyan cultural/religious context contributes significantly, more so than traditional Christian-Muslim dynamics from outside of Africa

Parent involvement in education: Variables affecting treatment acceptability and implementation

This study examined the effect of two types of rationales and parent perceived child behavior problems on acceptability and implementation of a reading intervention. Participants were parents of children who experience difficulty acquiring basic reading skills. Participants completed a Position Questionnaire developed by the author to identify each person\u27s unique feelings, beliefs and attitudes about their child\u27s education and reading progress. Each participant completed an Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory to measure their perception of behavior problems observed in their child. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two rationale groups. Parents assigned to the matched rationale group were provided a description of a reading activity and a rationale for using the activity which matched that participant\u27s position. Participants assigned to the generic rationale group were given the same description of a reading activity with a generic rationale for using that activity. All participants completed a modified version of the Intervention Rating Profile-15 (Witt and Elliott, 1985). Implementation was measured by participant completion of a Reading Record reporting the number of days and amount of minutes spent completing the intervention. Results showed no differences on measures of acceptability or implementation between the matched and generic rationale group. Neither type of rationale nor parent perceived behavior problems were significant predictors of acceptability of a reading intervention; nor were acceptability or perceived behavior problems significant predictors of implementation

Outreach Efforts at Standardizing Farm to Institution Reporting Metrics

The National Farm to Institution Metrics Collaborative launched an outreach project to develop standardized metrics for tracking the farm impacts of farm-to-institution purchases in 2019. This report describes the project’s objectives, outreach efforts, and future direction

New Mexico American College of Physicians Book Clubs: A Unique Form of Learning

Traditional medical education focuses on the science of medicine through lectures and clinical rotations. Yet, the art of medicine—learning compassion and empathy—and certain aspects of professional development may be best taught in other forms. Indeed, participation in The Maine Humanities Council Literature & Medicine Program led to 82% of participants self-reporting increased levels of empathy for patients. Further, incorporation of book clubs into the Pharmacy education at Purdue University led to students exploring new topics, reconsidering previously held perceptions, and better understanding of patient perspectives. In line with this, the New Mexico American College of Physicians (NMACP) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has begun to offer its membership learning through book clubs. To adapt to the new online learning environment, the book club was offered via Zoom and all members of the NMACP were invited to participate. This was accomplished by inviting retired professionals, physicians, and trainees (students, residents, and fellows) to participate via the NMACP ListServ. Given the recent racial injustices highlighted across America, the inaugural book was How To Be An Anti-Racist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Discussing this book with a diverse membership allowed for a productive conversation in a safe environment. We were able to examine how to incorporate our new knowledge into our medical practice, discuss action items that will utilize our privilege to facilitate change, and begin to lead from where we stand. The inaugural book club was so successful that the NMACP are facilitating the reading of How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith in the coming months. Additionally, an IRB protocol was submitted to better evaluate the success and value of the book club to the NMACP membership. Together, we find this new educational offering to be a unique way to facilitate learning and professional development for trainees and physicians alike

Novel methods for an interesting time: Exploring U.S. local food systems’ impacts and initiatives to respond to COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health and social distancing mandates caused unprecedented shifts and disruptions for local and regional food systems (LRFS). The pandemic also brought new and heightened attention to the structure and resiliency of US food systems, and LRFS appeared to be positioned to significantly increase the scope and scale of their market reach as a result. Researchers from three universities collaborated with staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service to recruit leaders from sixteen key coalitions within the U.S. LRFS sector to frame an adaptive, community-driven set of applied research activities to understand important themes, learn from effective responses and gain insights into how local and regional supply chains may change post-pandemic. In this paper, we summarise urgent and emergent strategies and innovations from LRFS captured in a fall 2020 consumer survey, with additional insights on how the survey was framed and interpreted, considering synthesis of collaborative discussions and project team interactions. We conclude the article with a set of research, policy and technical assistance priorities that were identified and validated by this LRFS network

Ethnic Disparities in Emergency Severity Index Scores among U.S. Veteran’s Affairs Emergency Department Patients

<div><p>Background</p><p>The goal of these analyses was to determine whether there were systematic differences in Emergency Severity Index (ESI) scores, which are intended to determine priority of treatment and anticipate resource needs, across categories of race and ethnicity, after accounting for patient-presenting vital signs and examiner characteristics, and whether these differences varied among male and female Veterans Affairs (VA) ED patients.</p><p>Methods and Findings</p><p>We used a large national database of electronic medical records of ED patients from twenty-two U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ED stations to determine whether ESI assignments differ systematically by race or ethnicity. Multi-level, random effects linear modeling was used to control for demographic characteristics and patient’s vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, and pain level), as well as age, gender, and experience of triage nurses. The dataset included 129,991 VA patients presenting for emergency care between 2008 and 2012 (91% males; 61% non-Hispanic White, 28% Black, 7% Hispanic, 2% Asian, <1% American Indian/Alaska Native, 1% mixed ethnicity) and 774 nurses for a total of 359,642 patient/examiner encounters. Approximately 13% of the variance in ESI scores was due to patient characteristics and 21% was due to the nurse characteristics. After controlling for characteristics of nurses and patients, Black patients were assigned less urgent ESI scores than White patients, and this effect was more prominent for Black males compared with Black females. A similar interaction was found for Hispanic males. It remains unclear how these results may generalize to EDs and patient populations outside of the U.S. VA Health Care system.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The findings suggest the possibility that subgroups of VA patients receive different ESI ratings in triage, which may have cascading, downstream consequences for patient treatment quality, satisfaction with care, and trust in the health equity of emergency care.</p></div