“We need a better system”
The donation of unharvested or unsold crops to rescue organizations has been promoted as a strategy to improve healthy food access for food insecure households while reducing production-level food loss and waste (FLW). In this study, we aimed to assess the motivations, barriers, and facilitators...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1170 |
| _version_ | 1797790353407868928 |
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| author | Caitlin Ceryes Kathryn Heley Danielle Edwards Chergai Gao-Rittenberg Leah Seifu Saifra Khan Sohail Roni Neff |
| author_facet | Caitlin Ceryes Kathryn Heley Danielle Edwards Chergai Gao-Rittenberg Leah Seifu Saifra Khan Sohail Roni Neff |
| author_sort | Caitlin Ceryes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The donation of unharvested or unsold crops to rescue organizations has been promoted as a strategy to improve healthy food access for food insecure households while reducing production-level food loss and waste (FLW). In this study, we aimed to assess the motivations, barriers, and facilitators for crop donation as a FLW reduction strategy among Maryland farmers. We interviewed 18 Maryland-based food producers (nine frequent crop donors and nine infrequent, by self-report) in 2016 – 2017, soliciting their perspectives on crop donation motivators, process feasibility, and interventions aimed at increasing crop donation. The interviews were thematically coded. All respondents were aware of crop donation as an option, and most expressed interest in reducing FLW by diverting crop surpluses for human consumption. While financial barriers represented one aspect influencing donation decisions, respondents also cited convenience, process knowledge, and liability as key considerations. In contrast to frequent donors, many of whom considered donation a moral imperative, some infrequent donors questioned the expectation that they would donate crops without compensation. Both frequent and infrequent donors were aware of pro-donation tax incentives, and infrequent donors reported being unlikely to use them. This research demonstrates that crop donation motivations, barriers, and facilitators can be diverse. Given the existence of crop surpluses and their potential benefits as emergency food, our results suggest that multiple interventions and policies may contribute to incentivizing and facilitating crop donation (or enabling the purchase of surplus crops) rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. Our findings also highlight a need to prioritize crop recovery methods that enhance growers’ financial stability.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:03:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-906e4a3ec62e40d5be1598c1a5dcce93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2152-0801 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:03:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-906e4a3ec62e40d5be1598c1a5dcce932023-07-01T18:45:16ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012023-06-0112410.5304/jafscd.2023.124.002“We need a better system”Caitlin Ceryes0Kathryn Heley1Danielle Edwards2Chergai Gao-Rittenberg3Leah Seifu4Saifra Khan Sohail5Roni Neff6Towson UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University The donation of unharvested or unsold crops to rescue organizations has been promoted as a strategy to improve healthy food access for food insecure households while reducing production-level food loss and waste (FLW). In this study, we aimed to assess the motivations, barriers, and facilitators for crop donation as a FLW reduction strategy among Maryland farmers. We interviewed 18 Maryland-based food producers (nine frequent crop donors and nine infrequent, by self-report) in 2016 – 2017, soliciting their perspectives on crop donation motivators, process feasibility, and interventions aimed at increasing crop donation. The interviews were thematically coded. All respondents were aware of crop donation as an option, and most expressed interest in reducing FLW by diverting crop surpluses for human consumption. While financial barriers represented one aspect influencing donation decisions, respondents also cited convenience, process knowledge, and liability as key considerations. In contrast to frequent donors, many of whom considered donation a moral imperative, some infrequent donors questioned the expectation that they would donate crops without compensation. Both frequent and infrequent donors were aware of pro-donation tax incentives, and infrequent donors reported being unlikely to use them. This research demonstrates that crop donation motivations, barriers, and facilitators can be diverse. Given the existence of crop surpluses and their potential benefits as emergency food, our results suggest that multiple interventions and policies may contribute to incentivizing and facilitating crop donation (or enabling the purchase of surplus crops) rather than one-size-fits-all approaches. Our findings also highlight a need to prioritize crop recovery methods that enhance growers’ financial stability. http://foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1170Food WasteFood LossFood RescueEmergency FoodCrop DonationFood Production |
| spellingShingle | Caitlin Ceryes Kathryn Heley Danielle Edwards Chergai Gao-Rittenberg Leah Seifu Saifra Khan Sohail Roni Neff “We need a better system” Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Food Waste Food Loss Food Rescue Emergency Food Crop Donation Food Production |
| title | “We need a better system” |
| title_full | “We need a better system” |
| title_fullStr | “We need a better system” |
| title_full_unstemmed | “We need a better system” |
| title_short | “We need a better system” |
| title_sort | we need a better system |
| topic | Food Waste Food Loss Food Rescue Emergency Food Crop Donation Food Production |
| url | http://foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1170 |
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