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"We are a business, not a social service agency." Barriers to widening access for low-income shoppers in alternative food market spaces

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  • Kelly J. Hodgins

    (University of Guelph)

  • Evan D. G. Fraser

    (University of Guelph)

Abstract

Alternative food networks are emerging in opposition to industrial food systems, but are criticized as being exclusive, since customers’ ability to patronize these market spaces is premised upon their ability to pay higher prices for what are considered the healthiest, freshest foods. In response, there is growing interest in widening the demographic profile given access to these alternative foods. This research asks: what barriers do alternative food businesses face in providing access and inclusion for low income consumers? Surveys and interviews with 45 alternative food businesses in British Columbia, Canada uncovered five key barriers. The findings indicate that the barriers are symptomatic of structural issues in the Canadian food and social welfare systems. Although opportunities exist for business operators to widen access for low income shoppers, these alone cannot meaningfully ameliorate food-access inequality. Rather, these barriers underscore issues of income-disparity, poverty, and food-access inequality more broadly, and require structural and societal change to rectify.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelly J. Hodgins & Evan D. G. Fraser, 2018. ""We are a business, not a social service agency." Barriers to widening access for low-income shoppers in alternative food market spaces," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 149-162, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:35:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-017-9811-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-017-9811-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Clara Cicatiello, 2020. "Alternative food shoppers and the “quantity dilemma”: a study on the determinants of their purchases at alternative markets," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Sttefanie Yenitza Escobar-López & Santiago Amaya-Corchuelo & Angélica Espinoza-Ortega, 2021. "Alternative Food Networks: Perceptions in Short Food Supply Chains in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Lenore Newman & Robert Newell & Colin Dring & Alesandros Glaros & Evan Fraser & Zsofia Mendly-Zambo & Arthur Gill Green & Krishna Bahadur KC, 2023. "Agriculture for the Anthropocene: novel applications of technology and the future of food," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(3), pages 613-627, June.
    5. Ferne Edwards, 2021. "Overcoming the social stigma of consuming food waste by dining at the Open Table," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(2), pages 397-409, June.
    6. Paul Hebinck & Henk Oostindie, 2018. "Performing food and nutritional security in Europe: claims, promises and limitations," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1311-1324, December.

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