FOOD JUSTICE IN POST-INDUSTRIAL US CITIES: THE ROLE OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The primary purposes of this dissertation were to (i) assess and identify post-industrial urban neighborhoods with food-insecure and vulnerable populations, and (ii) explore and analyze the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in addressing place-based food insecurity. The study used mixed-methods, including qualitative GIS, statistical tests, surveys, interviews, and field observations. A food justice theoretical framework was used to develop a Place-Based Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Index (PFIVI), which factored together 33 variables to measure six indicators. The study applied this index in the City of Philadelphia and then examined three types of interventions that NPOs embark on - providing hunger relief, providing healthy and affordable food through the alternative food movement, and offering food-based programs and events tied with community capacity building efforts. Statistical relationships between PFIVI scores and NPO-driven programs showed spatial mismatch issues between the programs and community needs in some neighborhoods. This research also highlighted other limitations of these programs and the challenges that NPOs face both on- and above-the-ground. While the NPOs are trying hard to promote food justice through their mission statements, advocacy, outreach, and on-the-ground programs, the city may have only partially achieved this goal. A lot more needs to be done by strengthening organizational networks, strengthening social networks with community residents, and offering healthy but affordable food in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and NPOs alone should not bear these responsibilities.