Digital Commons Network^™

Farm Fresh Food Boxes, Lauren Greco

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In response to trends that challenge food access, farmer livelihoods and public health, several market and social institutions have pursued the development of alternative food systems (AFS). These attempt to support the production and distribution of foods with important qualities, such as attention to specific growing practices, higher worker standards, superior product quality and taste, support for environmental health and farmer well-being (Valchuis et al. 2015). While there has been some success in these efforts, as evidenced by the growth of farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture programs, and farm-to-institution relationships, growth in direct to consumer markets has flattened in recent …

Technical Assistance And Farming At The Rural-Urban Interface: A Study Of Farmer Utilization And Related Attitudes, Elijah Massey

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The rural-urban interface (RUI) is a complex landscape impacted by a variety of social and economic processes. Substantial U.S. agricultural production occurs at the RUI despite non-farm development pressure. Notably, at a time when U.S. farming is increasingly dominated by a shrinking number of large scale operations, RUI agricultural production occurs primarily on small and medium farms. Importantly, RUI farms exhibit greater diversity in terms of operator demographics, production type, and marketing channels, than their large-scale counterparts.

A critical resource in the persistence of diverse RUI farms is Technical Assistance (TA). While TA is provided by a number of different …