Bessie DiDomenica is defending her PhD dissertation on exploring food policies that influence urban farms as a supplemental food source. Her dissertation analyzed case studies from 20 participants, including food policy officials, nonprofit managers, commercial farmers, and academics. She found that while urban farms exist as a secondary food source, they need a centralized infrastructure and policy solutions to issues like permitting and crop specialties. Local foods from urban farms cannot fully feed large urban populations on their own. DiDomenica concludes her dissertation by discussing implications for social change and recommendations for further research.

1. Food Policy: Urban Farming
as a Supplemental Food Source
PhD Dissertation Oral Defense
by
Bessie DiDomenica, MBA
School of Public Policy and Administration
Walden University
April 17, 2015, 8am (EST)

2. Acknowledgements
Committee Chair: Dr. Mark Gordon
Second Committee Member: Dr. Anthony Leisner
URR: Dr. Linda Day
Program Director: Dr. George R. Larkin

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Fruit Stall in a
Market in Barcelona, Spain
Source: www.commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fruit_Stall_in_Barcelona_Market.jpg

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Agenda
1. Problem & Purpose 7. Limits of the Study
2. Research Question 8. Recommendations
3. Literature Review 9. Implications
4. Data Collection 10. Social Change
5. Data Analysis (2) 11. Conclusions
6. Findings (5) 12. Q & A

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Problem and Purpose
Problem: Food systems in many cities are complex
and without a plan for a secondary food supply
(UNFAO, 2011). Population growth and limited
space increase the potential for a food deficit.
Purpose: To explore food policies that
influence urban farms as a secondary food source.

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Research Question
What are the public policy limits
and opportunities that support
urban farming as a supplemental
food source?

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Literature Review
Literature review themes:
• “Macro food policy” of food production,
distribution, and consumption (Angelo et
al.,2011).
• Urban agriculture and local food production
(Lutz et al., 2010; Taylor Lovell, 2010).
• Urbanization and land use barriers (Lang, 2010;
Morgan, 2009).

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Data Collection
Methodology: Case study approach
Sample size (20):
• Food and land policy officials (6)
• Nonprofit managers and staff (7)
• Commercial farmers, social enterprise (3)
• Students and administrators (4)

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Data Analysis
Code transcripts, organize data into
themes and patterns
Pattern matching for internal reliability,
explanation building, comparison

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Data Analysis
Coding: Iterative using HyperResearch software and
manual coding
1st
Round: Cursory and extensive list of codes
2nd
Round: Categories: Policy & Planning,
Agricultural Activities, Outliers
3rd
Round: Themes and patterns
4th
Round: Three major themes

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Overall Findings
General agreement with literature:
• Alternative food systems, creative
partnerships
• New zoning policies for agricultural use of
public land
• Political will and community support

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Overall Findings
Discrepancies from literature:
• Urban farms were micro farms (¼ acre) not
recreational farms (100 acres)
• Organic practices, but not certified organic
• Participants did not use the word
“permaculture”

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Findings: Local Food and Land Policy
Public: Design and implement local policy
Nonprofit: Networks and community presence
Private: Active in city’s urban agriculture policies
Academic: Design curriculum and student-run
food projects

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Findings: Food Production
Public: Selective funding of urban agriculture
projects
Nonprofit: Urban farming was a secondary program
Private: On the ground and above ground
agriculture
Academic: Different resources and opportunities
to grow food

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Findings: Procurement
Public: Buy from different food producers
Nonprofit: Source food for self and others in social
service programs
Private: Source local and nonlocal food
Academic: Procurement partner for large food
suppliers

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Limits of the Study
Case study approach and small sample size:
• Limited views on the topic
• Purposeful sampling
Transferability of the findings:
• Depends on community assets
• Communities active in urban agriculture

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Recommendations
Ideas for future studies:
1. Design a database of best practices
2. Create a pilot project for an urban
farm start up
3. Explore a network of specialized urban
farms

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Implications
Organizational: Support collaborations
Mentor and share ideas between different types
of farmers
Theoretical: Food policies for different urban
agriculture practices
Food policies based on the unique qualities of
urban agriculture

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Implications for Social Change
Describes the influence of food policies on
an urban food system, and the challenges
and opportunities in urban agriculture.
Creates an awareness that urban farms
may already exist as a secondary food
source.

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Conclusions
Key conclusions:
• Urban farms are evolving, need a
centralized infrastructure
• Policy solutions in permitting, crop
specialties
• Stakeholders are passionate and frustrated
• Local foods cannot feed large urban
populations

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References
Angelo, M. J., Timbers, A., Walker, M. J., Donabedia, J. B., & Van Noble, D. (2011). Small,
slow, and local: Essays on building a more sustainable and local food system: small, slow,
and local. Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 12(2), 353-378.
Lutz, A. E., Swisher, M. E., & Brennan, M. A. (2010). Defining community food security.
University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved from
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06400.pdf
Morgan, K. (2009). Feeding the city: The challenge of urban food planning. International
Planning Studies, 14(4), 341-348. doi:10.1080/13563471003642852
Taylor Lovell, S. (2010). Multifunctional urban agriculture for sustainable land use planning in
the United States. Sustainability, 2(8), 2499-2522. doi:10.3390/su2082499
United Nations Food & Agriculture. (2011). 2011 The state of food insecurity in the world:
How does international price volatility affect domestic economies and food security?
(FAO Corporate Document Repository No. 978-92-5-106927-1 ISBN) (p. 55). Rome, Italy:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2330e/i2330e00.htmWikimedia Commons. (2012).
Wikimedia Commons. (2012). Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fruit,Vegetables_and_Grain_NCI_Visuals_Online
.jpg

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THANK YOU!
Source:www.google.com/imgres

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Questions
and
Answers