Date of Award
Spring 5-2012
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Urban Studies
Department
School of Urban Planning and Regional Studies
Major Professor
David Beriss
Second Advisor
Renia Ehrenfeucht
Third Advisor
Jeffrey Ehrenreich
Abstract
Problems with food insecurity, such as a lack of access to healthy and affordable food in low-income neighborhoods, has been an ongoing challenge in New Orleans. The damages inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent citywide flooding on the local food system reduced the numerical count of operational full-service supermarkets and grocery stores throughout the city. The result has been a widespread presence of food deserts and grocery gaps, particularly in low-income neighborhoods. This thesis explores the emergence of food localism practices by food advocacy professionals as a capacity-building tool for New Orleans residents to increase community food security and develop a sustainable local food economy. This paper finds although alternative agro-food networks have increased the availability of healthy and locally produced foods in New Orleans, it provide evidence demonstrating their limited capacity to regularly provide healthy or affordable food in a similar manner to grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods.
Recommended Citation
Tranchina, Brent, "Growing Support: Localism, Nonprofits, and Food Access in Post-Katrina New Orleans" (2012). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1490.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1490
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.