Projects and Programs

Projects and Programs

Starting in 2020, INFAS began organizing our action mainly via working groups, summarized below.  We also have been part of leading two graduate fellowship programs to help invest in the diversity of people and paradigms in US food systems research.

You can also browse our other special projects and publications and other products from our work.

Working Groups Graduate Fellowship Program Special Projects


Working Groups

Each working group has a small annual budget to help seed and catalyze action. Working group chairs also serve on the INFAS Executive Committee. If you're an INFAS member interested in joining one of our working groups, please reach out to our coordinator at infas.coordinator@gmail.com or each of the individual working group chairs. 

 

Education Working Group

Recently, the Education Working Group took over the role of housing our two fellowship programs. The working group is currently strategizing to secure long-term support for these fellowships, as well as putting into motion several of our proposed plans taken from our NextGen proposal that focus on enhancing diversity in food systems education. 

Chair: Lindsey Lunsford, Tuskegee University’s Cooperative Extension. llunsford@tuskegee.edu

 

Justice Working Group

The Justice Working Group has been working on a project to document higher education institutions’ (HEIs) land-grab universities truth and reconciliation strategies (or lack thereof) with Native American tribes and communities. The working group hired researcher, Ashley Babcock, to assist with this project. Data collection began in Spring 2023 and is ongoing. The group is collaborating with researchers at UC Davis who are engaged in ongoing work in this area.

Chair: Rachael Budowle, Virginia Tech Honors College. rbudowle@vt.edu

 

Organizational Development Working Group

 The 'Org Dev' working group hosted a series of webinars on "Resilient Centers and Institutes" throughout 2021-2022 that gave insight and fostered discussion on many of the challenges of doing trans-disciplinary work inside academic institutions. 

With the help of Nancy Cramer, Casey Hoy, Nevin Cohen, Rich Pirog, and Thomas P. Tomich, the group used findings from these webinars to draft "Resilience strategies for centers and institutes focused on food systems transformation". This work was submitted to JAFSCD for publication in July 23. The group also developed a brief summarizing their recommendations for organizational resilience

Co-Chairs: Michelle Miller, University of Wisconsin - Madison (Committee term 2018 -2024); mmmille6@wisc.edu & Lauren Gwin, Oregon State University (Committee term 2019 - 2024); Lauren.Gwin@oregonstate.edu

 

Research Working Group

The INFAS Research Working Group has been working on multiple research and publication projects this year:

1. The first included a proposal for a special volume of the Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA) on food system planning and implementation entitled “Achieving Food System Equity and Sustainability Through State, Regional and Municipal Planning & Implementation in North America”. The focus of this proposed special volume was to be on innovative, applied and participatory food system planning and implementation case studies that have contributed to state or regional food system change in the US, especially in response to natural disasters or other crises. Update: Unfortunately this proposal was not accepted by the JAPA, but the editorial team - Dr. Subhashni Raj, Dr. Albie Miles, and Dr. Megan Horst - are considering which journal should be approached next.

2. A second project led by the INFAS Research WG is conducting a national needs assessment of the US food system planning professional community (e.g. scholars, state and regional planners and NGO leaders). The Research WG has contracted sociologist, Dr. Konstantinos Zourgris to work with Dr. Albie Miles and two research assistants on this project. The needs assessment is designed to inform the development of a Food System Planning National Community of Practice. A mixed-methods research design was developed consisting of semi-structured interviews (now complete) and self-administered surveys. The full study is anticipated to be completed by Oct. 2023 and submitted for peer review publication in December of 2023. This research builds off of prior food system planning work of Dr. Lesli Hoey (INFAS) and colleagues entitled, Participatory State and Regional Food System Plans and Charters in the U.S.: A Summary of Trends and National Directory, and the Food System Planning Landscape Assessment. A webinar on the key findings and policy implications of the research will be organized in Winter 2023/Spring 2024.

3. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Special Research Topics. In Albie’s role as Specialty Chief Editor of the Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Section Social Movements, Institutions & Governance, four (4) new Special Research Topics (see below) have been developed and are now in progress that INFAS members are encouraged to participate in as either Associate Editors, contributing authors or peer-reviewers. Please contact Albie Miles for additional details: albie@hawaii.edu.

i. Food System Transformation and the Realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Topic Editors: Albie F. Miles (INFAS); Travis Idol; José Antonio Teixeira; Elliot Berry; Brandy E. Phipps (INFAS)

ii. . Food System Resilience, Disaster Preparedness & Response. Note: Builds upon the previous INFAS-sponsored Frontiers Special Research Topic Achieving Food System Resilience & Equity in the Era of Global Environmental Change which has garnered over 156,000 views, reads and downloads to date.

iii.. Critical Theory, Animal Liberation & Food Ethics: Examining the Moral Status of Non-Human Animals & Its Implications for Food System Transformation.

iv. A Dialog of Wisdoms: Revitalizing Indigenous & Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Practice in Post-Secondary Sustainable Food Systems Education.

Chair: Albie Miles, University of Hawai'i, West O'ahu. (Committee term 2019 - 2024); albie@hawaii.edu