Consumers' Views on Local Food

This focus-group study investigated shoppers'’ beliefs and behaviors regarding local foods. Two of the four focus groups consisted of organic food shoppers. They were more committed to purchasing local foods and identified a much wider array of such foods than did the conventional shoppers. One group of conventional shoppers consisted of African-Americans, who tended to define “"local"” as a much larger geographic area than did the group of Caucasian conventional shoppers. The African-Americans were also less interested in local-food labels per se, despite being interested in the qualities associated with local foods: freshness, supporting local farmers, and developing personal relationships with food producers.Consumer/Household Economics,

Multi-stakeholder Governance in Cooperative Organizations: Toward a New Framework for Research?

ABSTRACTDespite the increasing popularity of multi-stakeholder cooperatives, social-economy researchers largely predict that these organizations will fail. Using a “cost of decision-making” approach, these researchers conclude that the governance structure of multi-stakeholder cooperatives makes this organizational model fundamentally untenable. In this paper, we review the empirical evidence available on multi-stakeholder cooperatives, which suggests that different groups of actors are able to govern themselves successfully. Consequently, we argue that the literature that has focused on the management of common pool resources by self-organized groups may be an appropriate body of literature in which to root a research program on these social-economy organizations.RÉSUMÉMalgré la popularité grandissante des coopératives à multiples intervenants, les chercheurs en économie sociale prédisent que ces organisations essuieront un échec. Grâce à une méthode des coûts pour la prise de décisions, ces chercheurs en viennent à la conclusion que la structure de gouvernance des coopératives à multiples intervenants, par sa nature, en fait un modèle organisationnel indéfendable. Dans cet article, nous examinons les éléments de preuve empiriques disponibles sur les coopératives à multiples intervenants, qui suggèrent que différents groups d’actants peuvent réussir à s’autogérer. Par conséquent, nous discutons du fait que la documentation qui porte sur la gestion des ressources communes par les groupes autogérés pourrait constituer un corpus approprié pour établir un programme de recherche sur ces organisations d’économie sociale.&nbsp

Can They Build or Not? Non-profit Housing Development in an Era of Government Re-engagement

In the context of new government investment in housing, this article explores the experiences of nonprofit organizations in securing support for new affordable rental housing development in three regions across Canada. Many challenges were reported, including ones pertaining to administration (extensive proposal requirements, lack of information and communication, and lengthy review processes), and the design of funding programs (such as a lack of flexibility available to proponents). Participants also reported limitations to the amount and nature of support provided, challenges working across different levels of government, and an uneven playing field among nonprofit and for-profit housing developers. Overall, results show that despite significant and recent investments made available for affordable housing, the nonprofit sector faces many barriers in accessing these, and that significant changes are required so that housing organizations may provide rental units to those in greatest need

On the Front Lines: Nonprofits in the Homeless-serving Sector During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article examines the experiences of the nonprofit, homeless-serving sector during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative interviews were conducted with staff and volunteers from frontline organizations in the two largest communities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants reported much strain on their organizations' human resources, but also the ability to adjust service delivery mechanisms quickly in order to continue offering supports. Most reported greater in-kind contributions from businesses and community members as well as more funding from the federal government in particular, albeit with administrative burdens and defined timelines. Nonprofits played a leadership role in developing responses to serve the needs of those experiencing homelessness, including developing comfort centres, installing portable toilets in downtown locations, and moving those without housing into hotels. They also advocated to government for state-level responses to those without housing, including calls to invest in new units and enhance funding for frontline service providers. At the same time, nonprofits reported working across sectors, noting better communication and relationships with state actors as well as other nonprofit organizations as a result of their COVID-19 response

Consumers' Views on Local Food

This focus-group study investigated shoppers' beliefs and behaviors regarding local foods. Two of the four focus groups consisted of organic food shoppers. They were more committed to purchasing local foods and identified a much wider array of such foods than did the conventional shoppers. One group of conventional shoppers consisted of African-Americans, who tended to define "local" as a much larger geographic area than did the group of Caucasian conventional shoppers. The African-Americans were also less interested in local-food labels per se, despite being interested in the qualities associated with local foods: freshness, supporting local farmers, and developing personal relationships with food producers

Homelessness within the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two Nova Scotian Communities

Expanding the emergent literature on homelessness and the COVID-19 pandemic, this qualitative study presents a portrait of the homelessness sector in two Nova Scotian, Canadian communities: Halifax Regional Municipality and Cape Breton Regional Municipality. This research provides an understanding of the health and wellness of populations experiencing homelessness during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the processes involved in supporting populations experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, and determining what has worked, what has not, and required changes. The data will inform relevant emergency crises and disaster relief responses for those experiencing homelessness and those who are marginalized, vulnerable, and living on the fringes of society. What follows are the core themes, and lessons learned, along with recommendations that capture the narratives from a group of individuals experiencing homelessness throughout the pandemic and those tasked with developing, supporting, innovating, and funding the disaster responses in two Nova Scotian communities

En première ligne : les OSBL du secteur d’aide aux sans-abris durant la pandémie de la COVID-19

This article examines the experiences of the nonprofit, homeless-serving sector during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative interviews were conducted with staff and volunteers from frontline organizations in the two largest communities in Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants reported much strain on their organizations' human resources, but also the ability to adjust service delivery mechanisms quickly in order to continue offering supports. Most reported greater in-kind contributions from businesses and community members as well as more funding from the federal government in particular, albeit with administrative burdens and defined timelines. Nonprofits played a leadership role in developing responses to serve the needs of those experiencing homelessness, including developing comfort centres, installing portable toilets in downtown locations, and moving those without housing into hotels. They also advocated to government for state-level responses to those without housing, including calls to invest in new units and enhance funding for frontline service providers. At the same time, nonprofits reported working across sectors, noting better communication and relationships with state actors as well as other nonprofit organizations as a result of their COVID-19 response.Dans cet article, nous examinons les expériences d’organismes sans but lucratif (OSBL) qui ont offert des services aux sans-abris durant la première vague de la COVID-19. Pour ce faire, nous avons mené des entrevues qualitatives auprès des employés et des bénévoles des services de première ligne dans les deux plus grandes collectivités de la Nouvelle-Écosse au Canada. Les personnes rencontrées ont souligné la pression considérable exercée sur les ressources humaines, mais aussi leur capacité d’ajuster rapidement leurs prestations de services pour continuer de fournir leur appui. La plupart d’entre elles ont indiqué avoir reçu davantage de soutien en nature de la part du secteur privé et de la communauté ainsi que plus de financement du gouvernement fédéral, accompagné cependant de fardeaux administratifs et d’échéances serrées. D’autre part, les OSBL du secteur ont fait figure de chefs de file dans l’élaboration de mesures pour répondre aux besoins des sans-abris, y compris l’aménagement d’aires de confort, l’installation de toilettes portatives au centre-ville, et l’aménagement de personnes sans logement dans des hôtels. En outre, les OSBL ont demandé que le gouvernement intervienne pour loger les sans-abris en investissant dans de nouveaux logements et en augmentant les salaires des fournisseurs de services de première ligne. En même temps, les OSBL du secteur ont indiqué que, à la suite de leur réponse à la COVID-19, ils ont pu mener des actions intersectorielles avec les acteurs gouvernementaux et d’autres OSBL et améliorer leurs communications et leurs relations avec ceux-ci