Mora Independent School District meal features local meat sourced through the New Mexico Grown Meat Pilot Program.

How is a new meat-to-institution initiative in New Mexico expanding producer opportunities and impacting community health? Read the full JAFSCD article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Credit: World Food Program, Dominican Republic

The U.S. Food Security Survey Module is now the standard for determining household food security status. Authors of the latest JAFSCD article administered the FSSM as a pilot in a household survey of 110 families in the Dominican Republic. Read all their findings, for free doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

We appreciate the cover photo provided by Timothy Willms, owner of Talus Wind Ranch!

The fall 2025 issue shares open call papers on a wide range of food systems topics, all aimed at making food systems “fundamentally better”—to quote John Ikerd. They’re joined by viewpoints, a commentary, and reviews of five books. Read the entire issue for free, as always at doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Food waste in a bin; photo from Adobe Stock.

How do confusion over date labels and food purchasing behaviors affect consumer food waste in the U.S.? Authors explore misunderstandings of food labels + purchasing behavior contribute to food waste. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...
#foodwaste #foodbuyingbehavior #datelabels

School pantry sneak peak shows the interior of a school food pantry with shelves stocked with nonperishable food items. Photo provided by the authors.

New research on food pantries in schools in #Maryland! These #pantries improve food access, build trust, and promote equity for students and families. But they have some challenges and some unknowns. Read the full JAFSCD article for free, as always: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

A flooded taro and maize plot in the Kiko marshland in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Arsene Mushagalusa Balasha, 2021.

In eastern DRC, marshlands feed families and support fragile biodiversity, but they are under threat from drainage and toxic pesticides. We need better support for flood-tolerant crops. Can we grow food and protect our marshlands? Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Tomatoes at market in Nigeria; photo from the Horticulture Innovation Lab by Jesse Daystar.

New research from #Nigeria focused on introducing plastic crates into the tomato value chain—a small innovation that could cut postharvest losses, improve food safety, and create new opportunities for women traders. Read the entire article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Family farmers at a flour house, peeling manioc to produce flour, an important local practice that integrates culture and way of life. Photo by Milena Almeida Vaz, with consent from all participants.

Family farmers in Brazil’s semi-arid region recognize the role of nature in their livelihoods, valuing the ecosystem services that sustain both work and culture. Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

How the World Eats is a highly relevant read in 2025. Baggini brings a philosophical background to exploring our global food system; crucial to understanding how + why decisions are made and how we feed ourselves as human beings. Read the entire book review for free doi.org/10.5304/jafs....

Little Pantries, filled with grab+go food, are popping up in campus buildings to fight student hunger. Find out how this low-barrier model is changing the game for college students facing food insecurity. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...
#CollegeLife #LittleRamPantries #VCU

Photo above: A female farmer in Guigang, Guangxi, pauses to photograph wildflowers before gathering vegetables and wild plants for lunch. Photo by Qihua Feng.

Discover the #ecological practices enabling small #farmers to survive and thrive amid #climate pressures, and explore their potential as a #sustainable and economically viable pathway for #smallholders in #China and beyond. Read the article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Interested in reviewing a book for JAFSCD?

Like to review a book and share your thoughts with JAFSCD’s readers? Fill out the quick review query form linked on our home page foodsystemsjournal.org. The selected reviewer receives a free hard copy or e-book!

Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America by Stacey F. Stearns. "[Author] Eayrs illustrates how corporate influence extends into local and national politics, weakening regulatory oversight and antitrust enforcement." Read the review for free at: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

New research shines a light on interconnected actions advancing freedom, agency, and dignity in food traditions — leading to holistic health in urban communities. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

#NourishNow #UrbanFoodSystems #CommunityAction

Neighbors share a pot of sesame sticky rice at a Pgaz K’Nyau New Year’s celebration (December 30, 2024) in Northern Thailand. Photo by Lilly Zeitler.

A new JAFSCD article published argues that #foodsharing is a better measure of #socialcapital. Reflection of the #WorldBank social capital questions in Indigenous Thai Pgaz K’Nyau communities, calls for tailoring context-specific survey q's. Read the article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Workers have some fun at the Youth Farm in Ithaca, New York, USA. Photo © 2020 by Amy Christian.

Five yrs on from the pandemic, in rural foodscapes of the U.S., orgs need to invest in prof. development and hiring practices to deepen their understanding of diverse life experiences; encouraging an open exchange of knowledge with partners. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

The case for radical changes in U.S. farm policy. Most farm and food policy debates have been about ways to make today’s failed systems less bad rather than how to make them fundamentally better. Read the entire Economic Pamphleteer column for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs....

As we round the bend on our Summer Issue we have a timely article for you. "With a decrease in SNAP-Ed brings a case study from S Carolina on the efficacy and sustainability of food policy councils". Read for free at doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

#foodpolicycouncil #SNAPED #Sustainability

Thank you for sharing! It's great to see the work of our authors and community members being shared.

Thank you for sharing the amazing work of our authors.

In our latest commentary, authors advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration between human geography and a sustainable food supply chain; exploring the role of place identity in sustainable transitions within food supply chain in Taiwan. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Waltham Fields Community Farm outreach farmer Marie-Ana packing boxes for the VegRx program. Photo provided by Waltham Fields Community Farm (WFCF).

What can produce prescription programs do for patients, providers, and food systems? In Waltham, Massachusetts, a farm-based produce prescription is improving food access, food sovereignty, and health outcomes. Read the full JAFSCD article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

The cover image represents the University of Kentucky's innovative employee-benefit community supported agriculture (CSA) program, which provides a voucher to offset the cost for employees and retirees.

Our Summer 2025 issue is complete!

It includes 28 peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of topics. You can read or download any of the articles or the entire issue as a PDF (a whopping 569 pages!) for free, as always, at www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fs...

Women farmers work in buckwheat fields in a village in the eastern Himalayan region. Photo by H. Sandhu.

Women were the first farmers; this should be celebrated and reinvigorated. Read our recent article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs... to revisit the role of women in today’s agriculture. #transition #global #agriculture #foodsystems #equitable #sustainable

Photo of Ms. Viery Thomas (standing) and Ashley Gripper (kneeiling) in front of a sign at Glenwood Green Acres, a community garden in Philadelphia. Photo provided by the author.

A new study develops the Agricultural Community Power Scale (AgCPS), a tool for orgs to measure program impacts. AgCPS captures: collective self-determination, Embodied Earth Care & Connection, land-based spiritual wellbeing, Ubuntu, and more. Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Double SNAP dollars table at a Montana grocery store.

Empowered shoppers, thriving farmers, and healthier communities — boosting SNAP at farmers markets is a win for everyone! Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

A recent JAFSCD article investigated the influence of empowerment programs on small-holder dairy production, specifically those aimed at fostering the development of knowledge and skills for both male-and female-headed households. Read the entire article for free at doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

A recent JAFSCD article from Saginaw, MI suggests that the USDA should refine their defn of "low access" to more accurately describe food landscapes. Read the entire article for free at doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

Photo of farm land

What might it look like to build local and regional food system capacity in places with farmland and water access constraints and competing land use goals? Researchers offer insights from the Palouse region of the U.S. Northwest. Read the full @JAFSCD article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...

A sign promoting the online ordering system, GOODS. Photo provided by the authors.

Community-led GOODS program connects rural consumers to fresh food - cutting costs, travel time for residents and showing how technology & local partnerships can improve food access in underserved areas. #rural #foodaccess #onlineordering #tech Read the full article for free: doi.org/10.5304/jafs...