Farmers’ markets are often thought to be the hallmark of the local food movement. However, there appears to be relatively little research which considers farmers’ experiences there. Drawing on 12 open-ended interviews with 16 farmers on Vancouver Island, BC, I explore how farmers’ markets support small-scale farmers, although they are losing farmer focus. I explore three key themes in this research: mainstream economic assessments of farmers’ markets, how consumer culture affects small-scale farmers, and whether organic certification works for small-scale farmers. The intent of my research is not only to consider farmers’ experiences at farmers’ markets, but to show how to improve their current organization on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. As such, this refocuses farmers’ markets back to local food, small-scale ecological farming, and food sovereignty. / Graduate

Modern agriculture has made great strides in terms of efficiency, yields, and profits, but has come to be characterised by a large environmental impact and resource use, global transports, poor working conditions, and a lack of contact between producers and consumers. In response to these concerns, many different initiatives commonly referred to as Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have been established to solve some or all of these issues. One such AFN is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where customers of the CSA farm rather become members and pay upfront for a whole season of produce, sharing risks amongst all members and the farmer. The CSA concept, or andelsjordbruk as it is commonly known in Swedish, is still fairly unestablished in Sweden despite a few farms having been in operation since the start of the 2000s. This study aims to research some of the details regarding active CSAs in the country, as well as their potential to affect the whole national food system. The study was conducted through an online survey that garnered 17 respondents, as well as an accompanying literature review of previous works dealing with CSAs and AFNs internationally, with a focus on Sweden. In addition to this, the results of the survey were analysed with the help of Multi-Level Perspective and social innovations perspective as previously applied to AFNs.  Results of the study solidify many of the conclusions drawn by previous works while showcasing the diversity of Swedish CSAs. Some key conclusions from the respondents of this survey include that only a few farms were started more than five years ago and the model has only risen in popularity over time. The farms are run by a few people with varying degrees of external help from members of the CSA or others, and they often have other sources of income outside of the CSA side of the business. The respondents view the CSA model favourably compared to other forms of sales, mainly due to the social connection with consumers, but struggle to make it financially sustainable and thus most want to continue growing and gaining more members. The farmers are driven by several aspects of sustainability, personal fulfilment, and a drive to educate and inspire others as well as changing the food system for the better. The effects of the covid-19 pandemic were mainly felt in events and personal meetings on the farms, striking some of the key parts of the CSA model.  From both the multi-level perspective and social innovations perspective, the CSA model has a potential to affect the Swedish food system as a whole due to its replicability and high focus on inspiration and education, spreading ideas and knowledge and building social capital outside of the rules of the corporate food regime. The uncertainties regarding long-term financial viability speak against it, but these uncertainties are lessened by the farms who have been operating in the CSA model for many years and managed to thrive. / Den moderna jordbruksindustrin har gjort stora framsteg när det gäller effektivitet, skördestorlek och vinster, men har kommit att präglas av en stor miljöpåverkan och resursanvändning, globala transporter, dåliga arbetsförhållanden och brist på kontakt mellan producenter och konsumenter. Som svar på detta har många olika initiativ som vanligtvis på engelska kallas Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) etablerats för att bemöta några eller alla dessa problem. Ett sådant AFN är Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) där kunderna på CSA-gården snarare blir medlemmar och betalar i förskott för en hel säsong med råvaror vilket distribuerar risken bland alla medlemmar och lantbrukaren själv. CSA-konceptet, eller andelsjordbruk som det kallas i Sverige, är fortfarande ganska oetablerat i landet trots att några gårdar har varit i drift sedan början av 2000- talet. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka några detaljer kring aktiva CSA i landet, liksom deras potential att påverka det nationella livsmedelssystemet i stort. Studien genomfördes genom en webbaserad enkätundersökning med 17 respondenter, samt en medföljande litteraturstudie över tidigare arbeten som behandlar CSA och AFN internationellt men med fokus på Sverige. Utöver detta analyserades resultaten av undersökningen med hjälp av så kallat multi-level perspective och social innovations perspective såsom de tidigare tillämpats på AFN.  Resultaten av studien bekräftar många av slutsatserna från tidigare verk samtidigt som de visar mångfalden av svenska CSA-jordbruk. Några viktiga slutsatser från respondenterna i denna undersökning inkluderar att endast ett fåtal gårdar startades för mer än fem år sedan och att modellen har ökat i popularitet över tid, gårdarna drivs av några få personer med varierande mängd jordbrukshjälp från både medlemmar och icke- medlemmar, och de har ofta andra inkomstkällor utanför CSA-delen av verksamheten. Respondenterna har en positiv inställning till CSA-modellen jämfört med andra former av försäljning, främst på grund av den sociala kontakten med konsumenterna, men kämpar för att göra den ekonomiskt hållbar och de flesta vill därför fortsätta växa och få fler medlemmar. Lantbrukarna i denna studie drivs av flera aspekter av hållbarhet, personlig tillfredsställelse och en drivkraft för att utbilda och inspirera andra samt att förändra matsystemet till det bättre. Effekterna av covid-19-pandemin märktes främst vid evenemang och personliga möten på gårdarna, vilket slog hårt mot några av de viktigaste delarna av CSA-modellen.  Ur både multi-level perspective och social innovations perspective har CSA-modellen en potential att påverka det svenska livsmedelssystemet på grund av dess replikerbarhet och höga fokus på inspiration och utbildning, spridning av idéer och kunskap samt byggande av socialt kapital utanför reglerna för dagens livsmedelsregim. Osäkerheterna om långsiktig ekonomisk lönsamhet talar emot modellen, men dessa osäkerheter minskar tack vare de gårdar som har arbetat med CSA i många år och lyckats frodas.

Unsustainable food production and consumption patterns are threatening our living environment and our lives on earth. There is a need for profound transition in our ways to produce and consume food. Food, its production and consumption is a hot topic currently – as can be seen in media and in several projects run by various institutions. Circular economy and sustainable resource management address different actors as well. The City of Lahti joined the FISU-network and is taking steps towards sustainable resource management. This thesis contributes to the ongoing work of the City of Lahti in developing its food sustainability strategic work through its participation in the FISU-network. The study aims to investigate the state of the regional food supply chain of Lahti, Finland, and its path on sustainability transition. Further on, it examines how alternative food networks may impact different aspects of sustainable local development and what kind of a role actors of regional food supply chain play in promoting food sustainability. This study applied a case study approach and used qualitative research methods in the forms of workshop and semi-structured interviews. The results were examined applying the theoretical framework which included Activity theory, Co-Creation and Economy of Common Good. There are various policies and strategies on global, national and regional level aiming to sustain the food system, food production and consumption, as well as promoting the use of local food. Few of them were used to reveal the present state of the regional food supply chain together with the results gained at the workshop and interviews to find the desired way. Alternative food networks may shorten the food supply chain and allow everyone a chance to contribute to local food sustainability. They may have social meaning by bringing the food supply chain actors together and offering more value than purchasing goods. Consumers can act as co-creators having possibility to influence what is produced, where and how. Alternative food networks may not necessarily be ecological, but they may have wider implications for the regional and local communities on economic, social and cultural levels by offering jobs, interaction, as well as giving a face and a story to the food.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Bimal Kanti Paul / Farm-to-school (FTS) programs are promoted as direct-marketing opportunities for farmers. As such, they are regarded by advocates and state and federal agencies as a pathway to rural economic development. The implementation of FTS food procurement poses significant challenges, however. Farmers make decisions regarding whether or not to market products to schools after learning about the program and considering an array of signals from multiscalar policies and governance structures. Research to date has left a gap in understanding farmers’ agency as it relates to governance structures and policy signals. This research on farmers’ engagement with the Oklahoma FTS Program contributes evidence to bridge this gap by examining the experiences not only of producers who participated in a FTS program but also of those who ceased participation or who chose not to participate. Employing a phronetic approach to social science, this explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods case study obtained quantitative and textual data from a mail survey, as well as data from two stints of qualitative fieldwork, in fall 2011 and fall 2012, which involved semistructured interviews and participant observation. Archival research completed the study methods used to gain a deeper understanding of farmers’ perspectives, practices, values, and experiences that informed their decisions to participate or not in a top-down-administered FTS program. Data collection was driven by the concept of farmers’ engagement. As such, eight categories of farmers’ engagement with the Oklahoma Farm to School Program emerged. This research answers these value-rational questions (Flyvbjerg, 2001): (1) Which farmers gain, and which farmers lose, by which mechanisms of power? (2) Is this desirable? (3) What should be done? Results provide evidence of geographically uneven development of a FTS program and incompatibilities between small- to midscale farming and the structure and governance of federal child-nutrition programs.

A dissociação entre ação econômica e ação ecológica, assim como o desenraizamento dos fatores sociais inerentes à economia, levaram à construção de sociedades marcadas por desigualdades sociais e por problemas distributivos. É neste contexto que se consolida o projeto político do desenvolvimentismo econômico com base produtivista. Ao mesmo tempo, historicamente, também se formam ‘resistências’ aos modelos hegemônicos. Aqui, tratamos destas resistências através das expressões contemporâneas da Agroecologia e da Economia Solidária – cujos paradigmas se direcionam para a construção de uma sociedade (ou de sociedades) justas e equilibradas. E é no Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, onde agricultores e consumidores agrupam-se no Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, conformando um ciclo local de produção e consumo de alimentos agroecológicos, que esta pesquisa se desenvolve. Objetivamos, através da realização de uma observação participante, identificar como se dá a autonomia – entendida como a autogestão dos grupos que conformam a Rede e, também, em relação à dependência dos mercados ‘hegemônicos’ – através da articulação de grupos organizados em rede. Para tanto, identificam-se os atores deste núcleo, caracterizando-os, e analisando as interdependências que se estabelecem através das relações que se estabelecem. Sendo que a cooperação é uma característica inseparável dos processos de desenvolvimento social, procuramos verificar se a participação na rede está motivada por respostas sociais, ambientais e culturais, e não somente por questões econômicas (no sentido utilitarista) e, também, se tais ações, entendidas sob a ênfase da economia solidária, depende de arranjos institucionais mediados para se constituírem, ao mesmo tempo que sua continuidade necessita da apropriação dos atores envolvidos. A existência de uma rede com estas características supõe a articulação de uma economia plural, ou seja, relações sociais que se estabelecem, nestas cadeias produtivas, dotados de significações mais amplas sobre o fazer econômico. Observamos que tais circuitos alternativos se caracterizam por diversas formas de autonomia, como a suficiência e a qualidade alimentar, e que diversos elementos não monetários motivam as ações econômicas. A associação entre a práxis da economia solidária e da agroecologia torna-se tanto evidente quanto importante para novas pesquisas e para corroborar com a formulação de políticas públicas no sentido do desenvolvimento rural sustentável. / The dissociation between economic and ecological action, as well as the un-embeddedness of social factors that are inherent from economy has led to the organization of societies marked by social inequalities and distribution problems. In this context, the political project of economical development with a productivity basis gets consolidated. Historically, at the same time, there can also be found resistances to these hegemonic models. This work discusses these types of resistances through the reviewing of contemporary expressions on agroecology and solidarity economy – whose paradigms point to wealth and just societies. It is in the Northern Coast of Rio Grande do Sul where small farmers and consumers has formed a nuclear group called Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, establishing a local cycle of production and consumptions of agroecological food. The aim of this research is to identify, through means of a participant observation, how does autonomy takes place in the groups that are organized inside this net. Autonomy here is understood as the selfmanagement of the groups that are part of a greater net, and also, their dependency to hegemonic markets. The actors of this nucleus were identified, as well as the established relations of interdependency were characterized and analyzed. Taking into consideration that cooperation is an inseparable characteristic of the processes of social development, this investigation tries to find out if people’s participation in the net is motivated by social, environmental and cultural responses, and not only by economic questions (having a utilitarian sense). Moreover, it also is investigated if such actions, understood under the light of solidarity economy, depends on institutional arrangements that are mediated to be constituted, and at the same time that its continuity needs the appropriation of the involved actors. The existence of a net with these characteristics supposes the articulation of a plural economy, which means that the social relations that are established in theses production chains provide several different meanings to the economical practice. It was observed that alternative circuits are characterized by different forms of autonomy, such as sufficiency and food quality, and that different elements that are not monetary motivate such actions. The association between solidarity economy and agroecology becomes as much evident as important to new researches and to corroborate the formulation of public politics that defend a sustainable rural development.

A dissociação entre ação econômica e ação ecológica, assim como o desenraizamento dos fatores sociais inerentes à economia, levaram à construção de sociedades marcadas por desigualdades sociais e por problemas distributivos. É neste contexto que se consolida o projeto político do desenvolvimentismo econômico com base produtivista. Ao mesmo tempo, historicamente, também se formam ‘resistências’ aos modelos hegemônicos. Aqui, tratamos destas resistências através das expressões contemporâneas da Agroecologia e da Economia Solidária – cujos paradigmas se direcionam para a construção de uma sociedade (ou de sociedades) justas e equilibradas. E é no Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, onde agricultores e consumidores agrupam-se no Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, conformando um ciclo local de produção e consumo de alimentos agroecológicos, que esta pesquisa se desenvolve. Objetivamos, através da realização de uma observação participante, identificar como se dá a autonomia – entendida como a autogestão dos grupos que conformam a Rede e, também, em relação à dependência dos mercados ‘hegemônicos’ – através da articulação de grupos organizados em rede. Para tanto, identificam-se os atores deste núcleo, caracterizando-os, e analisando as interdependências que se estabelecem através das relações que se estabelecem. Sendo que a cooperação é uma característica inseparável dos processos de desenvolvimento social, procuramos verificar se a participação na rede está motivada por respostas sociais, ambientais e culturais, e não somente por questões econômicas (no sentido utilitarista) e, também, se tais ações, entendidas sob a ênfase da economia solidária, depende de arranjos institucionais mediados para se constituírem, ao mesmo tempo que sua continuidade necessita da apropriação dos atores envolvidos. A existência de uma rede com estas características supõe a articulação de uma economia plural, ou seja, relações sociais que se estabelecem, nestas cadeias produtivas, dotados de significações mais amplas sobre o fazer econômico. Observamos que tais circuitos alternativos se caracterizam por diversas formas de autonomia, como a suficiência e a qualidade alimentar, e que diversos elementos não monetários motivam as ações econômicas. A associação entre a práxis da economia solidária e da agroecologia torna-se tanto evidente quanto importante para novas pesquisas e para corroborar com a formulação de políticas públicas no sentido do desenvolvimento rural sustentável. / The dissociation between economic and ecological action, as well as the un-embeddedness of social factors that are inherent from economy has led to the organization of societies marked by social inequalities and distribution problems. In this context, the political project of economical development with a productivity basis gets consolidated. Historically, at the same time, there can also be found resistances to these hegemonic models. This work discusses these types of resistances through the reviewing of contemporary expressions on agroecology and solidarity economy – whose paradigms point to wealth and just societies. It is in the Northern Coast of Rio Grande do Sul where small farmers and consumers has formed a nuclear group called Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, establishing a local cycle of production and consumptions of agroecological food. The aim of this research is to identify, through means of a participant observation, how does autonomy takes place in the groups that are organized inside this net. Autonomy here is understood as the selfmanagement of the groups that are part of a greater net, and also, their dependency to hegemonic markets. The actors of this nucleus were identified, as well as the established relations of interdependency were characterized and analyzed. Taking into consideration that cooperation is an inseparable characteristic of the processes of social development, this investigation tries to find out if people’s participation in the net is motivated by social, environmental and cultural responses, and not only by economic questions (having a utilitarian sense). Moreover, it also is investigated if such actions, understood under the light of solidarity economy, depends on institutional arrangements that are mediated to be constituted, and at the same time that its continuity needs the appropriation of the involved actors. The existence of a net with these characteristics supposes the articulation of a plural economy, which means that the social relations that are established in theses production chains provide several different meanings to the economical practice. It was observed that alternative circuits are characterized by different forms of autonomy, such as sufficiency and food quality, and that different elements that are not monetary motivate such actions. The association between solidarity economy and agroecology becomes as much evident as important to new researches and to corroborate the formulation of public politics that defend a sustainable rural development.

A dissociação entre ação econômica e ação ecológica, assim como o desenraizamento dos fatores sociais inerentes à economia, levaram à construção de sociedades marcadas por desigualdades sociais e por problemas distributivos. É neste contexto que se consolida o projeto político do desenvolvimentismo econômico com base produtivista. Ao mesmo tempo, historicamente, também se formam ‘resistências’ aos modelos hegemônicos. Aqui, tratamos destas resistências através das expressões contemporâneas da Agroecologia e da Economia Solidária – cujos paradigmas se direcionam para a construção de uma sociedade (ou de sociedades) justas e equilibradas. E é no Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, onde agricultores e consumidores agrupam-se no Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, conformando um ciclo local de produção e consumo de alimentos agroecológicos, que esta pesquisa se desenvolve. Objetivamos, através da realização de uma observação participante, identificar como se dá a autonomia – entendida como a autogestão dos grupos que conformam a Rede e, também, em relação à dependência dos mercados ‘hegemônicos’ – através da articulação de grupos organizados em rede. Para tanto, identificam-se os atores deste núcleo, caracterizando-os, e analisando as interdependências que se estabelecem através das relações que se estabelecem. Sendo que a cooperação é uma característica inseparável dos processos de desenvolvimento social, procuramos verificar se a participação na rede está motivada por respostas sociais, ambientais e culturais, e não somente por questões econômicas (no sentido utilitarista) e, também, se tais ações, entendidas sob a ênfase da economia solidária, depende de arranjos institucionais mediados para se constituírem, ao mesmo tempo que sua continuidade necessita da apropriação dos atores envolvidos. A existência de uma rede com estas características supõe a articulação de uma economia plural, ou seja, relações sociais que se estabelecem, nestas cadeias produtivas, dotados de significações mais amplas sobre o fazer econômico. Observamos que tais circuitos alternativos se caracterizam por diversas formas de autonomia, como a suficiência e a qualidade alimentar, e que diversos elementos não monetários motivam as ações econômicas. A associação entre a práxis da economia solidária e da agroecologia torna-se tanto evidente quanto importante para novas pesquisas e para corroborar com a formulação de políticas públicas no sentido do desenvolvimento rural sustentável. / The dissociation between economic and ecological action, as well as the un-embeddedness of social factors that are inherent from economy has led to the organization of societies marked by social inequalities and distribution problems. In this context, the political project of economical development with a productivity basis gets consolidated. Historically, at the same time, there can also be found resistances to these hegemonic models. This work discusses these types of resistances through the reviewing of contemporary expressions on agroecology and solidarity economy – whose paradigms point to wealth and just societies. It is in the Northern Coast of Rio Grande do Sul where small farmers and consumers has formed a nuclear group called Núcleo Litoral Solidário da Rede Ecovida de Agroecologia, establishing a local cycle of production and consumptions of agroecological food. The aim of this research is to identify, through means of a participant observation, how does autonomy takes place in the groups that are organized inside this net. Autonomy here is understood as the selfmanagement of the groups that are part of a greater net, and also, their dependency to hegemonic markets. The actors of this nucleus were identified, as well as the established relations of interdependency were characterized and analyzed. Taking into consideration that cooperation is an inseparable characteristic of the processes of social development, this investigation tries to find out if people’s participation in the net is motivated by social, environmental and cultural responses, and not only by economic questions (having a utilitarian sense). Moreover, it also is investigated if such actions, understood under the light of solidarity economy, depends on institutional arrangements that are mediated to be constituted, and at the same time that its continuity needs the appropriation of the involved actors. The existence of a net with these characteristics supposes the articulation of a plural economy, which means that the social relations that are established in theses production chains provide several different meanings to the economical practice. It was observed that alternative circuits are characterized by different forms of autonomy, such as sufficiency and food quality, and that different elements that are not monetary motivate such actions. The association between solidarity economy and agroecology becomes as much evident as important to new researches and to corroborate the formulation of public politics that defend a sustainable rural development.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do tema da construção social de mercados alimentares alternativos no contexto das novas relações de produção e consumo contemporâneas. Especificamente, seu objetivo é demonstrar como o mercado alimentar da Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS foi construído e problematizar questões em torno da qualidade, do papel do consumo e de como as relações de confiança são forjadas pelos atores sociais no interior deste espaço. Neste sentido, demonstra-se como agricultores familiares e consumidores do município compartilham valores sociais e culturais que orientam suas práticas econômicas e produtivas, através de referências e vínculos estabelecidos sobre um passado rural comum, justificando a busca pelos produtos da Feira pela sua origem “da roça” e construindo estratégias de atuação apoiadas na valorização de modos de vida tradicionais/coloniais. Por sua vez, demonstra-se que a construção da qualidade dos alimentos vendidos neste espaço, está associada a valores culturais que reconhecem e valorizam meios e modos de vida “simples”, que dispensam maior atenção e “cuidado” na produção de alimentos “frescos” e saudáveis. / This dissertation addresses the issue of the social construction of alternative food markets in the context of the new contemporary relations of production and consumption. Specifically, its objective is to demonstrate how the food market of the Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS (Small Farmer Fair) was built and problematize issues around quality, the role of consumption and how the trust relationships are forged by social actors within this space. In this sense, it is shown as family farmers and consumers of the municipality share social and cultural values that guide its economic and productive actions by providing references and links established through a common rural past, justifying the search for products Fair by reference of its farmers’ origin and building operation strategies supported in the valuation of traditional/colonial ways of life. In turn, we show that the construction quality of food sold in this space, is associated with cultural values that recognize and value means and “simple” ways of life, which dispense greater attention and "care" in food production “fresh” and healthy.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do tema da construção social de mercados alimentares alternativos no contexto das novas relações de produção e consumo contemporâneas. Especificamente, seu objetivo é demonstrar como o mercado alimentar da Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS foi construído e problematizar questões em torno da qualidade, do papel do consumo e de como as relações de confiança são forjadas pelos atores sociais no interior deste espaço. Neste sentido, demonstra-se como agricultores familiares e consumidores do município compartilham valores sociais e culturais que orientam suas práticas econômicas e produtivas, através de referências e vínculos estabelecidos sobre um passado rural comum, justificando a busca pelos produtos da Feira pela sua origem “da roça” e construindo estratégias de atuação apoiadas na valorização de modos de vida tradicionais/coloniais. Por sua vez, demonstra-se que a construção da qualidade dos alimentos vendidos neste espaço, está associada a valores culturais que reconhecem e valorizam meios e modos de vida “simples”, que dispensam maior atenção e “cuidado” na produção de alimentos “frescos” e saudáveis. / This dissertation addresses the issue of the social construction of alternative food markets in the context of the new contemporary relations of production and consumption. Specifically, its objective is to demonstrate how the food market of the Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS (Small Farmer Fair) was built and problematize issues around quality, the role of consumption and how the trust relationships are forged by social actors within this space. In this sense, it is shown as family farmers and consumers of the municipality share social and cultural values that guide its economic and productive actions by providing references and links established through a common rural past, justifying the search for products Fair by reference of its farmers’ origin and building operation strategies supported in the valuation of traditional/colonial ways of life. In turn, we show that the construction quality of food sold in this space, is associated with cultural values that recognize and value means and “simple” ways of life, which dispense greater attention and "care" in food production “fresh” and healthy.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do tema da construção social de mercados alimentares alternativos no contexto das novas relações de produção e consumo contemporâneas. Especificamente, seu objetivo é demonstrar como o mercado alimentar da Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS foi construído e problematizar questões em torno da qualidade, do papel do consumo e de como as relações de confiança são forjadas pelos atores sociais no interior deste espaço. Neste sentido, demonstra-se como agricultores familiares e consumidores do município compartilham valores sociais e culturais que orientam suas práticas econômicas e produtivas, através de referências e vínculos estabelecidos sobre um passado rural comum, justificando a busca pelos produtos da Feira pela sua origem “da roça” e construindo estratégias de atuação apoiadas na valorização de modos de vida tradicionais/coloniais. Por sua vez, demonstra-se que a construção da qualidade dos alimentos vendidos neste espaço, está associada a valores culturais que reconhecem e valorizam meios e modos de vida “simples”, que dispensam maior atenção e “cuidado” na produção de alimentos “frescos” e saudáveis. / This dissertation addresses the issue of the social construction of alternative food markets in the context of the new contemporary relations of production and consumption. Specifically, its objective is to demonstrate how the food market of the Feira do Pequeno Produtor de Passo Fundo/RS (Small Farmer Fair) was built and problematize issues around quality, the role of consumption and how the trust relationships are forged by social actors within this space. In this sense, it is shown as family farmers and consumers of the municipality share social and cultural values that guide its economic and productive actions by providing references and links established through a common rural past, justifying the search for products Fair by reference of its farmers’ origin and building operation strategies supported in the valuation of traditional/colonial ways of life. In turn, we show that the construction quality of food sold in this space, is associated with cultural values that recognize and value means and “simple” ways of life, which dispense greater attention and "care" in food production “fresh” and healthy.