Economic shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of local food supply networks while simultaneously demonstrating the adaptive capacity of farmers embedded in strong social networks. This project examines how access to varied social capital influences farmer adaptations to economic shocks, and how individual choices transmit over wider networks to influence food supply chain resilience.
In partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension, I conducted sequential surveys and interviews with vegetable growers in New York State. Preliminary findings highlight the role of product diversity and informal local partnerships in fostering farm resilience — recasting community solidarity as a determinant of resilience rather than a byproduct of it.
Outputs#
- Rangarajan, S., Allred, S., Biasillo, L., Higgins, E., Thurston, M. Influence of social capital on marketing strategies of vegetable growers: Implications for community resilience. (working paper)
- Northeast SARE Grant Report, 2021