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The aim of our review is to critically analyze the urban agriculture and urban food systems literature in order to understand the impact of urban-produced foods on community food security. We examine the role of city planning, food policy, and civic engagement in creating spaces for urban agriculture in cities across the United States, and whether (and how) these spaces promote food justice and food security. Bringing together multidisciplinary literature on access to urban agriculture and the distribution of urban-produced foods in a thematic, systematic review, we point out gaps in the academic research that would benefit from further study. The review integrates academic literature generated from Web of Science searches with gray literature identified through Google Alerts. We find that while there is a strong focus on elucidating the multiple benefits of urban agriculture, there are few studies that robustly measure the impact of urban farms on improving food security in low-income communities. Much of the literature is theoretical, focused on the production potential of urban agriculture, while more work is needed to understand and overcome barriers to access and distribution among communities in need. We conclude with a set of recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who seek to create spaces in cities for food justice, equity, access, and sovereignty.
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This content will become publicly available on March 6, 2026
Community‐Level Food Sovereignty and Wellbeing in the Upper Yakima River Basin: Framing Lived Experiences within Multi‐Scalar Food Systems Discourse
Food sovereignty, a framework focused on systemic change in the food system that accounts for food access, food justice, and food security, is an important driver of community wellbeing. However, the complex determinants of food sovereignty are not fully understood. Interdisciplinary assessments of food systems are needed to establish the impact of socioeconomic status, race, gender, and other social identities on food access. Understanding the goals and lived experiences of diverse communities and community members is critically important to advancing research on the sociology of food and agriculture. Drawing from community interviews addressing local food systems in six different communities in Washington's Upper Yakima River Basin, a qualitative assessment of expert perspectives on local and regional food systems illuminates perceived connections between food sovereignty and wellbeing. Findings suggest that food access and dependence on local agriculture varies across and within communities. Additionally, we find that agriculture is undergoing social, economic, and political transitions that may have immense community impacts moving forward. Given the diverse array of both agricultural and recreational economies in the study site, qualitative data informs our understanding of stakeholder perceptions at multiple levels of the food system. The implications of these findings lead to a forward‐looking discussion of linkages between food dimensions and other variables that impact local and regional wellbeing.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2115169
- PAR ID:
- 10576593
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Sociological Inquiry
- ISSN:
- 0038-0245
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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