Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
17 results
Food safety, power, and produce gleaning in California: insights from community food recovery networks
2026Chiarella C., Lamoureaux Y., Pires A., Surls R., Bennaton R., Van Soelen-Kim J., Grady S., De Melo Ramos T., Koundinya V., DiCaprio E. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · California, USA
Examines produce gleaning within California's community food recovery networks, focusing on food safety and power dynamics in redistributing would-be-wasted produce.
Food lossCommunityWelfareHousehold food waste behaviors of participants in a municipal community compost program
2025Campbell C., Gusto C., Kelsey K.D., Haase H., Cohen N., Robertson K., Kiker G., Boz Z. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(2):9-26 · United States
A study in which 107 participants in a municipal community compost program in Gainesville, Florida, used a citizen-science approach to measure and record their household food waste for two weeks. Participants generated more than double the EPA's estimate (about 14 lb/week), yet 85.8% reported increased food-waste awareness and 71.5% reported reducing their waste, showing that community composting can nudge household food-loss reduction.
Food lossCompostCommunityFood educationCommunity Supported Agriculture and Food Waste in Curitiba, Paraná
2025Dailey Fischer, Roberta Romano, Mariana Monteiro Kugler Batista, Mario Prokopiuk, Valério Alécio Turnes, Carlos Alberto Cioce Sampaio · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (Curitiba)
An exploratory survey (N=401, n=144) was conducted to assess food waste patterns among consumers involved in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives in the Central Urban Core of Curitiba, Brazil. The results showed that participation in CSAs does not significantly influence consumer behavior regarding food waste. This indicates a need for sustainable consumption education and context-specific solutions.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiFood lossFood educationEconomicsUrban food waste for soil amendment? Analysis of waste-based compost for urban agriculture in Rosario, Argentina
2024· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · South America
Study examining the use of urban food waste compost in urban agriculture in Rosario, Argentina. Analyzes waste-to-resource conversion and organic cycling potential.
Organic cycleFood lossCompostDIYRénover Cleveland : démolition, racisme et agriculture urbaine dans l’Amérique abandonnée
2024Pierric Calenge, Maie Gérardot · Métropolitiques · United States (Cleveland)
The work by Max Rousseau and Vincent Béal illuminates the ambiguities of a policy that organizes urban decline and racial segregation in Cleveland. This policy promotes urban degrowth and racial segregation, balancing algorithmic management and urban greening. The study focuses on the Rust Belt region, which experiences de-urbanization marked by the subprime crisis, racism, and segregation.
Equity & displacementCommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceHealthWelfareClimate changeBiodiversityFood educationElderlyFood lossOrganic cyclePollinatorsHeirloom & landraceFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureDigital agricultureDIYCompostFood educationWelfareElderlyFood lossOrganic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsPolicyHealthEconomicsHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureGrowing together or growing apart? A study of food donation community garden programming during the COVID-19 pandemic
2024Moses Wanyakha, Nancy Grudens‐Schuck, Ann M. Oberhauser · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Iowa)
This study investigated resilience and vulnerabilities in fresh produce donation partnership programs to food pantries in Iowa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed a significant decrease in labor hours during the pandemic years of 2020–2021, attributed to government policies and social distancing requirements. Volunteer shortages, donation inconsistency, and exclusionary community practices appeared to be inherent vulnerabilities of volunteer-based food donation programs.
Limited or null effectCommunityWelfareFood lossPolicyFarmer attitudes and perceptions toward gleaning programs and the donation of excess produce to food rescue organizations
2022Harvey S., Mount P., Valentine H., Gibson C. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(4):233-247 · United States
Interviewing 12 farmers who participated in a gleaning program and 16 who did not in the Greater Kansas City metro area, this study analyses motivations for and barriers to donating surplus produce to food-rescue organisations such as food banks. Participants cited ease of donating and tax incentives; non-participants cited safety and liability concerns. It informs the design of food-rescue schemes that redirect urban and peri-urban farm surplus to community food aid.
Food lossCommunityWelfareEconomicsDesign, construction, and application of a low-cost solar dryer: A kinetic study of Araticum pulp drying
2022· Journal of Food Processing and Preservation · Brazil
Designs, constructs, and applies a low-cost solar dryer, studying the drying kinetics of araticum fruit pulp. Demonstrates a self-built, inexpensive dryer for preserving and adding value to produce.
DIYFood lossEconomicsCompost
2022Margaret Marcy Emerson · Digital Commons - LIU Promoting Scholarship and Creative Work of LIU Students, Faculty, and Staff (Long Island University) · United States
In 2019, an estimated 35% of all food was lost or wasted in the U.S., and organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting significantly cuts the amount of food going into landfills, reducing climate and environmental impacts. Compost enhances soil, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, improves soil water retention, provides carbon sequestration, and local composting conserves energy and reduces transport emissions.
CompostFood lossClimate changeCommunityA Conceptual Framework for Incorporation of Composting in Closed-Loop Urban Controlled Environment Agriculture
2021Dsouza A., Price G., Dixon M., Graham T. · Sustainability · Canada
Presents a conceptual framework for incorporating composting into closed-loop urban controlled environment agriculture to recycle nutrients from organic waste streams.
CompostFood lossOrganic cycleQuantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture
2020Shrestha P., Small G.E., Kay A. · PLOS ONE, 15(4):e0230996 · United States
A study measuring and quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost application in urban gardens. It shows compost often supplies phosphorus far in excess of crop demand, and surplus P can be lost to waterways. The work argues that closing the food-waste-to-compost loop in urban agriculture must be designed for sustainable nutrient management, not just diversion.
CompostOrganic cycleFood lossEconomicsDecentralized community composting feasibility analysis for residential food waste: A Chicago case study
2019Pai S., Ai N., Zheng J. · Sustainable Cities and Society, 50:101683 · United States
Using Chicago as a case study, this analysis assesses the feasibility of decentralized community composting on portions of public parks in terms of cost and greenhouse gas emissions. It finds decentralized composting delivers outreach, landfill diversion and cost-saving benefits, with an estimated net benefit of about $100 per tonne, indicating the financial viability of a city-wide strategy to compost household food waste locally.
Food lossCompostOrganic cycleEconomicsGleaning in the 21st Century: Urban food recovery and community food security in Ontario, Canada
2019Marshman J., Scott S. · Canadian Food Studies · Ontario, Canada
A study of five Ontario gleaning groups showing that modern gleaning contributes to community food security by reducing food waste, improving access to fresh food, and fostering social connections.
Food lossCommunityWelfareWastescape : stitching the process of natural decomposition back into the public realm
2018Pei Yu · Digital Commons - RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) · United States (New York City)
This research explores waste management in New York City, the world's most wasteful city, seeking ways to bring waste back into the city and connect people with it. Phase I investigates the composition, quantity, and mobility of NYC's waste management, while Phase II focuses on organic waste and the potential of vacant lots in Lower East Manhattan. Phase III proposes a composting park on the East River, engaging residents in various stages of waste management, and aims to connect urban residents to collective waste and the biome's power to transform organic waste into soil, food, and a new life cycle.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityFood lossA plant to plate pilot: a cold‐climate high school garden increased vegetable selection but also waste
2015Brian Wansink, Andrew S. Hanks, David R. Just · Acta Paediatrica · United States (New York)
Using a before/after tray-waste design, this pilot tested whether a cold-climate high school garden could influence vegetable intake without nutrition education. At an upstate New York high school, adding garden-grown greens to the salad bar raised the share of students selecting salad from 2% to 10% and students ate about two-thirds of what they took, though waste rose from 5.56% to 33.33% per serving.
Food educationHealthFood lossThe 2009 Late Blight Pandemic in the Eastern United States – Causes and Results
2012William E. Fry, M. T. McGrath, Abby Seaman, Thomas A. Zitter, A. McLeod, Giovanna Danies, Ian M. Small, Kevin Myers, Kathryne L. Everts, Amanda J. Gevens, Beth K. Gugino, Sara B. Johnson, Howard S. Judelson, Jean B. Ristaino, Pamela Roberts, Gary A. Secor, K. W. Seebold, K. Snover-Clift, A. Wyenandt, Niklaus J. Grünwald, Christine D. Smart · Plant Disease · United States
The 2009 tomato late blight pandemic in the eastern United States resulted in significant crop losses for many home gardeners and organic producers. This event led to widespread questions regarding its causes and differences from previous epidemics.
Limited or null effectCSA & TeikeiFood lossClimate changeMaterial Ecocriticism: Dirt, Waste, Bodies, Food, and Other Matter
2012D. Z. Phillips, Heather I. Sullivan · ISLE Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment · United States
This collection of essays for ISLE assesses the material aspects of healthy economies, environments, and bodies, arguing that the traditional economic-ecological "health" dichotomy is insufficient. It finds that the determination of "healthy" is complex, as artificial environments can be benign, and even a flourishing community garden can have neglected produce going to waste. The essays explore how a large number of healthy human bodies can be detrimental to healthy environments.
Limited or null effectCommunityFood lossOrganic cycle