AUTHOR=DuPuis E. Melanie , Christian Annie TITLE=Growing food, growing food systems: The role of non-profit farms JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2023 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1090682 DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2023.1090682 ISSN=2571-581X ABSTRACT=

The study of non-profit food organizations has focused primarily on food policy, urban gardens, coops, and farmers' markets in cities. Despite significant research on these kinds of food non-profits, research specifically on non-profit farms – organizations that produce food for local communities – is nearly non-existent. We argue that non-profit farms are a category that deserves more research attention. This article asks what services non-profit farms see themselves as providing to their communities, along with a supply of local food. We focus on the missions of non-profit farms, using farms on the GuideStar database of non-profit organizations. We also examine, through interviews and website analysis, the role of non-profit farms in the Hudson Valley, long a hub of non-profit farms. We conclude that local non-profit farms are hybrid organizations that perform services that are similar to local community non-profits, supporting local social welfare, environment, education, and community development roles, along with providing local food access and, in some cases, supporting food system change.