Alternative food networks: good practices for sustainable performance

ABSTRACT

New alternative forms of distribution and consumption are emerging in the food sector in response to the deficiencies of current market practices. The increase in alternative food networks, short chains and direct selling has led to the emergence of new forms of collective action. Collective farmer shops (CFSs) are small sales outlets created by groups of farmers that aim to sell local products with social motives of transparency, sustainable farming, food quality and the improvement of the producers’ livelihood. This research aimed to study the conditions under which these organisations maintain sustainable performance by achieving both social and economic goals. We developed a qualitative research protocol through 16 semidirected interviews with outlets engaged in an alternative food network in France. The results identify two groups that achieve social and economic performance and two groups that do not (only economic performance is achieved or none).

KEYWORDS:

• Alternative food networks
• alternative food markets
• collective farmer shops
• performance
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. https://www.boutiquespaysannes.fr/

2. See Appendices A and B for a detailed analysis of economic and social performance CFS by CFS.

3. Alertness is defined as a distinctive set of perceptual and information-processing skills. It has been proposed as the cognitive engine that drives the opportunity identification process (Gaglio & Katz, 2001).