Have you met… Fulbright Scholar Mary Rodriguez?
23 September 2024
Mary's vast knowledge has been enriched by global experiences, and she looks forward to research in Alberta, Canada next. (Photo: Supplied)
Community resilience as a contributor to sustainable food systems
Over the past several years, we have seen a dire need for more sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. Emerging issues such as COVID, climate change and population changes have challenged the ability of our agri-food systems to provide our communities with food access and availability. This affects every sector of our population; however, it disproportionately affects our most marginalized communities. A more sustainable food system would increase food security for all.
Food systems, communities, and households are all complex, adaptive systems. They are made up of multiple integrated networks, and due to their complexity, addressing one change causes multiple effects. For example, shocks to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries like extreme weather events, market volatility, and other societal issues impact producers as well as consumers, who may be underprepared to face the effects. Increasing resilience in households and communities can therefore improve food security and contribute to more sustainable food systems.
As a Fulbright Scholar, associate professor Rodriguez will conduct a mixed methods case study to investigate the role of household and community resilience in creating a more sustainable agri-food system. She will use a systems approach that explores social, cultural, economic and environmental drivers within the food system, and the impact and power that people can have in issues related to food systems. By co-creating and driving development, the community – from the producer to the consumer – can adapt the initiatives directly to the work they need for their own community needs.
This research is supported by Fulbright Canada, a joint, bi-national, treaty-based organization created to encourage mutual understanding between Canada and the United States of America through academic and cultural exchange. Fulbright Canada is supported by Global Affairs Canada, the United States Department of State, and a diverse group of corporate sponsors, charitable trusts, and university partners.
About Mary Rodriguez
Mary T. Rodriguez is an associate professor of community leadership and development in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University. As a Latina woman, she is passionate about supporting our most vulnerable community members both locally in Columbus, Ohio, as well as around the world. She has worked with immigrant communities in Columbus and with subsistence agricultural communities in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Her focus is on improving food security and strengthening the food system (producer to consumer) through exploration of behavior change and household and community resilience. As a daughter of immigrants, she and her family experienced food insecurity at various moments in her childhood. She has also seen firsthand the need to support families like her own in her work in communities all over the world. These very personal experiences drive her work to try to improve the food system for all families and communities. Mary is a lover of travel, exploring new cultures, and eating good food. She is excited to be in Edmonton for her time as a Fulbright Scholar.