Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2013
Capstone Advisor
Dr. Don Mitchell
Honors Reader
Dr. Tom Perreault
Capstone Major
Geography
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Subject Categories
Geography | Human Geography | Nature and Society Relations
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate how alternative food networks exist in Syracuse, what participation in these networks means for the individuals who choose to be involved in them, and what this means for the way that participants conceptualize their class, their consumption patterns, and their community in terms of their personal identity construction. In order to answer this question, the researcher interviewed four participants in alternative food networks in Syracuse, New York. Two of these participants were farmers who served the greater Syracuse area with their CSA farms, and two of the participants were employees of the Central New York Regional Market Authority who ran the Market Authority’s Mobile Market. After conducting four semi-structured hour long interviews with participants, the conclusion was made that participants use their involvement in alternative food networks as a means of expressing and affirming their middle class status. Their class status is expressed as a product of both their consumption and community formation in addition to participation in AFNs. After looking at the data collected from the interviews, it became clear that participant’s reasons for being involved in AFNs include the continued affirmation of their middle class identities.
Recommended Citation
Abraham, Leanne, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Local Food: Alternative Food Networks in Syracuse, NY and Class Identity Formation" (2013). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 36.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/36
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
