Growing Connections: Local Food Systems and Community Resilience.

This descriptive study explored organic farmers' perceived contribution to community resilience. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and examined for predetermined and emerging categories and themes. Ten producers and 20 workers described direct contributions to community resilience constructs, particularly increased political, economic, and natural capital; a sense of community pride and belonging; and historical responsibility. Participants described creating new spaces and opportunities for social interactions such as volunteer engagement and closer relationships with customers, farmers and social organizations. They also referred to three different types of social networks: (1) farmer-to-farmer networks (bonding); (2) farmer-to-community networks (bridging); and (3) organization-to-organization networks (linking). Findings also suggest a perceived bidirectional relationship between local food systems and strong social networks. This paper discusses existing literature; proposes a theoretical framework that supports the research approach taken by the study; and identifies specific constructs connecting local food systems to community resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]