How Can Middle-of-the-Chain Organizations Improve Farmer Livelihoods and Reduce Food Insecurity?

In the United States, small and beginning (SB) farmers depend on institutional and elite customers to increase their farm income, whereas food-insecure communities lack alternatives for accessing and utilizing healthy local foods. This study examined two middle-of-the-chain organizations attempting to break the demand- and supply-related barriers faced by food-insecure consumers and SB farmers, respectively. The study suggests that deep engagement on both sides can facilitate the creation of a viable local food pathway. One organization serves as an aggregator for SB farmers while preventing the unrealistic expectations of institutional customers. A second organization activates food-insecure consumers’ agencies to conceptualize and transform locally sourced food into acceptable forms. It provides the necessary support to ensure the utilization of healthy, nutritious foods. When the two organizations’ missions are aligned, they can use an emergent, flexible, and adaptable approach with a continuous improvement mindset to increase SB farmer livelihoods and reduce food insecurity. Middle-of-the-chain organizations collectively should have more than one way to make local foods available, accessible, and utilizable by food-insecure consumers. A nonprofit social enterprise model of organizations in the middle seems central to the viability of the community-based food system. The system is still in its early stages. Further research is needed to examine its sustained viability.