Rural Appalachian populations have greater rates of obesity and chronic diseases attributed to lesser consumption of fruits and vegetables (F/V) and physical inactivity. Barriers to F/V consumption and physical activity include poor access and affordability. To help overcome these barriers, a community-initiated walking and farmers market F/V voucher program was implemented. Participants were encouraged to walk (1.2 miles roundtrip) to the local farmers market to redeem a $10 voucher which could only be spent on F/V. The 16-week program (June – Sept) included 121 participants. Data was analyzed by creating two groups, low-engagers and high-engagers that differed significantly in the number of times walked to the market and redeemed vouchers, p ≤ 0.0001. Among all participants’ significant decreases were seen in total cholesterol, LDL, ratio of total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol, 10-year risk of heart disease or stroke score, and hemoglobin A1c (p ≤ 0.05). Significant increases were seen in HDL, quantity and variety of F/V consumption among all participants and the high-engagers group. There were improvements in knowledge pertaining to participants’ awareness of the term “phytonutrient” with correctly identifying plant-based foods as the source (p=0.01). Results demonstrate that a community-based walking and farmers market F/V voucher program can improve health in a Rural Appalachian population.

A questão central de nosso estudo é compreender como são formadas as concepções de qualidade dos alimentos no âmbito dos mercados de proximidade, especificamente, nas feiras dos produtores. Esta pesquisa teve como referência uma mudança recente no setor agroalimentar, identificada principalmente entre países europeus de uma virada para a qualidade, o quality turn. Observamos um renascimento das feiras, seja por um fortalecimento da importância daquelas já existentes, ou pela criação de novas feiras na região da aglomeração urbana de Piracicaba. Analisamos dois estudos de caso de mercados de proximidade, identificando como estão organizadas e quais são valores que lhes são atribuídos. Com o mesmo intuito, analisamos as normas jurídicas que incidem sobre os dois casos, através do Sistema de Inspeção Municipal (SIM), no entendimento que estas regras também expressam acordos e concepções, os quais são socialmente construídos e disputados. Para tal utilizamos teorias como aquelas da criação do mercado auto-regulável, proposta por Polany (2012), do enraizamento dos mercados de Granovetter (2007) e dos movimentos de apropriacionismo e substitucionismo dos capitais industriais e financeiros, concebida por Goodman, Sorj e Wilkinson, (2008). A mobilização da teoria das convenções contribuiu sobremaneira para expressar as relações desse sistema, seus acordos e disputas através de suas convenções mobilizadas. Da mesma forma, o apoio nos trabalhos desenvolvidos por Storper (1997) e Stræt e Marsden (2006) foram essenciais para uma análise das convenções, em termos das qualidades dos alimentos. Os mercados de proximidade estudados, no caso as feiras de produtores de São Pedro e Rio Claro, representam sim espaços que permitem a construção de novas concepções em relação à qualidade dos alimentos. No caso de São Pedro, encontramos uma \'qualidade localizada\', onde a produção local, o conhecimento dos modos de fazer tradicionais, as receitas típicas e utilização de variedades nativas caracterizam a qualidade dos alimentos ofertados na feira. É uma qualidade com grande ancoragem em convenções domésticas e ecológicas, onde se misturam o cuidar da terra e aquele da família. Em Rio Claro, município com um perfil menos rural, ocorre um renascimento da produção local, tanto com produtores que sempre estiveram no setor quanto com \'novos agricultores\'. A qualidade encontrada ai é aquela de tipo \'especializada\', onde a diferenciação através da obtenção de selos de certificação estão se configurando como o caminho dessa feira. Assim, a qualidade do alimento processado é garantida pela especialização da produção e assegurada pelo SIM, implementado no município. Identificamos que o SIM, no caso específico dos estudos, não contemplam ou estimulam produções locais com qualidade diferenciada, reproduzindo sobremaneira convenções industriais levando a uma especialização das produções locais. / The central question of our study is to understand how the conceptions of food quality are formed, more specifically in the scope of the proximity markets, in the case, in the farmers market. This research had as a reference a recent change in the agrifood sector, identified mainly among European countries, the quality turn, which expresses an aesthetic criticism that opposes the standardization of consumption; an ecological principle that is designed against the impacts generated by the Green Revolution. Our research allowed us to observe a renaissance of the farmers markets, either by strengthening the importance of those already existing, or by creating new markets in the region of the urban agglomeration of Piracicaba. In this sense, we seek to analyze two case studies of proximity markets, identifying how they are organized and what values are attributed to them. With the same intention, we analyze the legal norms that affect both cases, through the Municipal Inspection System (MIS), in the understanding that these rules also express agreements and conceptions, which are socially constructed and disputed. We use theories such as the creation of the self-regulating market proposed by Polany (2012), the embbedeness of Granovetter\'s markets (2007) and the appropriationist and substitutionist movements of industrial and financial capitals, designed by Goodman, Sorj and Wilkinson , (2008). The mobilization of the theory of conventions has greatly contributed to express the relations of this system, its agreements and disputes through its mobilized conventions. Similarly, support in the works developed by Storper (1997) and Stræt and Marsden (2006) were essential for an analysis of conventions in terms of food qualities. The proximity markets studied, in this case the farmers markets of São Pedro and Rio Claro, represent spaces that allow the construction of new conceptions regarding the quality of food. In the case of São Pedro, we find a \'localized quality\', where local production, knowledge of \"traditional ways of making\", typical recipes and use of native varieties characterize the quality of the foods offered at the farmers market. It is a quality with great anchorage in domestic and ecological conventions, where the care of the land and that of the family are mixed. In Rio Claro, a municipality with a less rural profile, there is a revival of local production, both with producers who have always been in the sector and with \'new farmers\'. The quality found there is that of the \'specialized\' type, where the differentiation through the obtaining certification stamps are being configured as the way. Thus, the quality of processed food is guaranteed by the specialization of production and ensured by the MIS, implemented in the municipality. We have identified that MIS, in the specific case of the studies, do not contemplate or stimulate local productions with differentiated quality, reproducing a lot of industrial conventions leading to a specialization of local productions.

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Alternative food networks in a post-communist context:: Farmers' markets and farm shops in Czechia Marie Syrovátková ABSTRACT The emergence of farmers' markets (FMs) and farm shops (FSs) in Czechia is a follow-up of the expansion of alternative food networks (AFNs) from Western Europe and North America where they have been developing for several decades. AFNs are an up-to-date topic as they respond to the growing concerns about the negative effects of the globalized conventional food system on social, economic and environmental aspects of food production, distribution and consumption. Each form of AFNs emphasizes a different aspect of the food system sustainability. FMs and FSs should primarily enable direct selling of quality local products made by small producers to support local economy, rural development, environmental protection and to improve quality of life. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the aim of the dissertation is to explore the emergence and development of AFNs in Central Europe. Using the example of Czechia, considering the communist past of the region, the work evaluates the contribution of AFNs to build a more sustainable system of food production and consumption and the weak points of the phenomenon in Czechia and, using a comparison of the AFN evolution...

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The present empirical study examined factors that affect the acceptance and use of social media platforms by farmers and vendors in farmers’ communities in North Mississippi for marketing their small farm businesses. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), structural equations modeling was used to examine several relationships: (1) the influence of performance expectancy (PE) on behavioral intention (BI) to use social media; (2) the influence of effort expectancy (EE) on BI; (3) the influence of social influence (SI) on BI; (4) the influence of facilitating conditions (FC) on actual use (USE) of social media; (5) the moderating influence of gender on the PE–BI, EE–BI, and SI-BI relationships; (6) the moderating influence of age on the PE–BI, EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships; and (7) the moderating influence of experience using social media on the EE–BI, SI-BI, and FC–USE relationships. Results from 169 respondents who completed questionnaires indicated that PE, EE, SI, and FC (key constructs) did predict farmers and vendors’ BI to use social media and actual USE of social media for marketing their small farm businesses and agriproducts. Respondents’ characteristics (e.g., age, gender, social media experience) did moderate some of these relationships in different ways. Thus, the present study provided additional empirical support for UTAUT. Additionally, responses to questions that assessed constructs in UTAUT suggest that respondents are open to social media as a marketing tool for their small farm businesses. Other results indicated that farmers and vendors prefer to market their products through farmers markets and community supported agriculture groups as compared to retail outlets and noted barriers present in retail marketing channels. This study provides information that will be beneficial for the development of educational programs and contributes to the literature on the factors affecting farmers’ intention to use social media to promote agriproducts to connect new markets.