IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/joafsc/359507.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Educator and Institutional Entrepreneur: Cooperative Extension and the Building of Localized Food Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Dunning, Rebecca
  • Creamer, Nancy
  • Lelekacs, Joanna Massey
  • O'Sullivan, John
  • Thraves, Tes
  • Wymore, Teisha

Abstract

Cooperative Extension Service educators work within an established network of offices throughout the United States and have the potential to tap both structural and relationship networks to foster collaboration and catalyze institutional change in food systems. The prerequisites and processes to generate systemic change, however, challenge the established logic of information transfer that has dominated Extension Service practice. This paper considers the nature of Extension's engagement in food systems both conceptually and in practice, based on a two-year train-the-trainer professional development project in North Carolina designed to support the emergence of local food systems. Extension initiatives are examined in light of two social change models: diffusion of innovations, based on knowledge transfer and spatial diffusion; and institutional change, based on inter-organizational relationships and mutually held cultural understandings. We suggest that the work of food systems change is more usefully viewed through an institutional lens, with extension educators serving as "institutional entrepreneurs" to address and leverage the concerns of the communities in which they are embedded into lasting food system change.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunning, Rebecca & Creamer, Nancy & Lelekacs, Joanna Massey & O'Sullivan, John & Thraves, Tes & Wymore, Teisha, 2012. "Educator and Institutional Entrepreneur: Cooperative Extension and the Building of Localized Food Systems," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 3(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:joafsc:359507
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/359507/files/135.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gail Feenstra, 2002. "Creating space for sustainable food systems: Lessons from the field," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(2), pages 99-106, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Benson, Matthew C. & Hightower, Lisa S. & Bendfeldt, Eric S. & Tyler-Mackey, Crystal & Niewolny, Kim L. & Groover, Gordon, 2012. "Surveying Agrifood Stakeholders To Identify Priorities as Part of a Virginia Food System Assessment," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 3(1).
    2. Godette, Sherrie K. & Beratan, Kathi & Nowell, Branda, 2015. "Barriers and Facilitators to Local Food Market Development: A Contingency Perspective," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 5(3).
    3. Enderton, Arlene E. & Bregendahl, Corry M. & Topaloff, Alice S., 2017. "Shepherding Community Engagement to Strengthen the Local Food System in Northeast Iowa," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 7(2).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alison Blay-Palmer & Roberta Sonnino & Julien Custot, 2016. "A food politics of the possible? Growing sustainable food systems through networks of knowledge," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(1), pages 27-43, March.
    2. Bartlett, Jannette R. & Tackie, Nii O. & Jahan, Mst Nusrat & Adu-Gyamfi, Akua & Quarcoo, Francisca A., 2015. "An Analysis of the Characteristics and Practices of Selected Alabama Small Livestock Producers: A Focus on Economics and Marketing," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal (PAWJ), Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, vol. 3(01), pages 1-25.
    3. Brent Hammer & Helen Vallianatos & Candace Nykiforuk & Laura Nieuwendyk, 2015. "Perceptions of healthy eating in four Alberta communities: a photovoice project," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 649-662, December.
    4. Ozgul Calicioglu & Alessandro Flammini & Stefania Bracco & Lorenzo Bellù & Ralph Sims, 2019. "The Future Challenges of Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Analysis of Trends and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Alejandro Rojas & Will Valley & Brent Mansfield & Elena Orrego & Gwen E. Chapman & Yael Harlap, 2011. "Toward Food System Sustainability through School Food System Change: Think&EatGreen@School and the Making of a Community-University Research Alliance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(5), pages 1-26, May.
    6. Antoinette Pole & Margaret Gray, 2013. "Farming alone? What’s up with the “C” in community supported agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(1), pages 85-100, March.
    7. Shoshanah Inwood, 2025. "Finding our place in public scholarship," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 42(1), pages 1-7, March.
    8. Anastasia COSTANTINI & Gianluca PASTORELLI & Alessia SEBILLO, 2019. "How Social Enterprises Contribute to Alternative Food Systems," CIRIEC Working Papers 1914, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    9. H. Doležalová & K. Pícha & J. Navrátil, 2009. "Analysis of the organic food marketing - chain store companies (South Bohemia)," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 55(9), pages 446-458.
    10. Fabiola Sánchez-Galván & Horacio Bautista-Santos & José Luis Martínez-Flores & Diana Sánchez-Partida & Arely del Rocio Ireta-Paredes & Gregorio Fernández-Lambert, 2019. "Backyard Agricultural Production as a Strategy for Strengthening Local Economy: The Case of Chontla and Tempoal, Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-13, September.
    11. Karla Guzmán Fernández & Ana I. Moreno-Calles & Alejandro Casas & José Blancas, 2020. "Contributions of Urban Collective Gardens to Local Sustainability in Mexico City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Carrie Furman & Carla Roncoli & Donald Nelson & Gerrit Hoogenboom, 2014. "Growing food, growing a movement: climate adaptation and civic agriculture in the southeastern United States," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(1), pages 69-82, March.
    13. Simon Berner & Hartmut Derler & René Rehorska & Stephan Pabst & Ulrike Seebacher, 2019. "Roadmapping to Enhance Local Food Supply: Case Study of a City-Region in Austria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Blay-Palmer, Alison D. & Knezevic, Irena & Andrée, Peter & Ballamingie, Patricia & Landman, Karen E. & Mount, Phil A. & Nelson, Connie H. & Nelson, Erin & Stahlbrand, Lori M. & Stroink, Mirella L. & S, 2013. "Future Food System Research Priorities: A Sustainable Food Systems Perspective from Ontario, Canada," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 3(4).
    15. Amy Trauger & Carolyn Sachs & Mary Barbercheck & Kathy Brasier & Nancy Kiernan, 2010. "“Our market is our community”: women farmers and civic agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(1), pages 43-55, March.
    16. William Lacy, 2023. "Local food systems, citizen and public science, empowered communities, and democracy: hopes deserving to live," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.
    17. Sofia G. Florença & Ana Luísa Amaral & Filipa Costa & Raquel P. F. Guiné & Cristina A. Costa, 2025. "Characterization of Sustainable Food Initiatives: Preliminary Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, February.
    18. Sundkvist, Asa & Milestad, Rebecka & Jansson, AnnMari, 2005. "On the importance of tightening feedback loops for sustainable development of food systems," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 224-239, April.
    19. Christopher D. Murakami & Mary K. Hendrickson & Marcelle A. Siegel, 2017. "Sociocultural tensions and wicked problems in sustainable agriculture education," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 591-606, September.
    20. Riccardo Testa & Antonino Galati & Giorgio Schifani & Anna Maria Di Trapani & Giuseppina Migliore, 2019. "Culinary Tourism Experiences in Agri-Tourism Destinations and Sustainable Consumption—Understanding Italian Tourists’ Motivations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-17, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:joafsc:359507. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.