Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities and issues around local and regional food systems, presenting valuable opportunities to reflect on these issues and lessons on how to increase local/regional resilience. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) in Canada as a cas...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Urban Governance |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000468 |
| _version_ | 1811176069833687040 |
|---|---|
| author | Robert Newell Colin Dring Lenore Newman |
| author_facet | Robert Newell Colin Dring Lenore Newman |
| author_sort | Robert Newell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities and issues around local and regional food systems, presenting valuable opportunities to reflect on these issues and lessons on how to increase local/regional resilience. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) in Canada as a case study, this research employs integrated planning perspectives, incorporating comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations, to (1) reflect upon the challenges and vulnerabilities that COVID-19 has revealed about local and regional food systems, and (2) examine what these reflections and insights illustrate with respect to the needs for and gaps in local/regional resilience against future exogenous shocks. The study used a community-based participatory approach to engage local and regional government, stakeholders, and community members living and working in the FVRD. Methods consisted of a series of online workshops, where participants identified impacts related to the food production, processing, distribution, access, and/or governance response components of the local and regional food systems and whether these impacts were short-term (under 3 months), medium-term (3 to 12 months), or long-term (over 1 year) in nature. Findings from the study revealed that food systems and their vulnerabilities are complex, including changes in food access and preparation behaviours, lack of flexibility in institutional policies for making use of local food supply, cascading effects due to stresses on social and public sector services, and inequities with respect to both food security impacts and strategies/services for addressing these impacts. Outcomes from this research demonstrate how including comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations in studies on food systems vulnerabilities can generate useful insights for local and regional resiliency planning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:47:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2fa0c93e10354d2c804c717dec801b36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2664-3286 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T19:47:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Urban Governance |
| spelling | doaj.art-2fa0c93e10354d2c804c717dec801b362023-01-29T04:21:38ZengElsevierUrban Governance2664-32862022-12-0122316327Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilitiesRobert Newell0Colin Dring1Lenore Newman2School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria, BC V9B 5Y2, Canada; Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, Canada; Corresponding author at: School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria, BC V9B 5Y2, Canada.School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria, BC V9B 5Y2, Canada; Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, CanadaFood and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, CanadaThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities and issues around local and regional food systems, presenting valuable opportunities to reflect on these issues and lessons on how to increase local/regional resilience. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) in Canada as a case study, this research employs integrated planning perspectives, incorporating comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations, to (1) reflect upon the challenges and vulnerabilities that COVID-19 has revealed about local and regional food systems, and (2) examine what these reflections and insights illustrate with respect to the needs for and gaps in local/regional resilience against future exogenous shocks. The study used a community-based participatory approach to engage local and regional government, stakeholders, and community members living and working in the FVRD. Methods consisted of a series of online workshops, where participants identified impacts related to the food production, processing, distribution, access, and/or governance response components of the local and regional food systems and whether these impacts were short-term (under 3 months), medium-term (3 to 12 months), or long-term (over 1 year) in nature. Findings from the study revealed that food systems and their vulnerabilities are complex, including changes in food access and preparation behaviours, lack of flexibility in institutional policies for making use of local food supply, cascading effects due to stresses on social and public sector services, and inequities with respect to both food security impacts and strategies/services for addressing these impacts. Outcomes from this research demonstrate how including comprehensive-systems, regional, place-based, and temporal considerations in studies on food systems vulnerabilities can generate useful insights for local and regional resiliency planning.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000468Food systemsCOVID-19VulnerabilitiesIntegrated planningCommunity-based research |
| spellingShingle | Robert Newell Colin Dring Lenore Newman Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities Urban Governance Food systems COVID-19 Vulnerabilities Integrated planning Community-based research |
| title | Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| title_full | Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| title_fullStr | Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| title_short | Reflecting on COVID-19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| title_sort | reflecting on covid 19 for integrated perspectives on local and regional food systems vulnerabilities |
| topic | Food systems COVID-19 Vulnerabilities Integrated planning Community-based research |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2664328622000468 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertnewell reflectingoncovid19forintegratedperspectivesonlocalandregionalfoodsystemsvulnerabilities AT colindring reflectingoncovid19forintegratedperspectivesonlocalandregionalfoodsystemsvulnerabilities AT lenorenewman reflectingoncovid19forintegratedperspectivesonlocalandregionalfoodsystemsvulnerabilities |