BRINGING RESEARCH AND COMMUNITIES TOGETHER TO ADVANCE A REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS PROJECT

This conference project brings together researchers engaged in a 12-state integrated AFRI project with students and community members from project-related sites. By deepening participants' knowledge and relationships, the proposed workshop addresses two program priorities: to advance a systems perspective on food security; and to address knowledge exchange, behavior and policy factors that contribute to food security integration and collaboration. Sixteen community leaders from nine Northeast locations with underserved communities will join the Research Team and graduate students of the Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast (EFSNE) Project for a two-day workshop in Baltimore in March 2014.Since 2011 EFSNE's interdisciplinary team of scientists and practitioners has been evaluating production, distribution and consumption components of regional food systems across multiple scales and supply chains, examining structural, institutional, community and individual dimensions of healthy food consumption in disadvantaged communities.Through EFSNE's participatory research framework, researchers and community leaders will build greater understanding of the project's systemic nature. Researchers will gain greater awareness of food system work on the ground, along with valuable input and feedback on research activities. Community members will deepen their connection to the project as well as their understanding of and commitment to food system work.EFSNE's success depends largely on meaningful connections among community members and researchers. We intend to balance the project's research needs with what community members see as benefits from participating. Researchers will describe their work to date, with time for dialogue. Community members will share and learn about food system activities in each locale.