Relationships, sustainability and agri-food purchasing behaviour in farmer markets in Italy

PurposeThe study aims to demonstrate that farmers' markets can represent a model of environmental, social and governance reference for modern agri-food systems facing the challenge of post COVID-19 pandemic reconstruction, responding to consumer expectations in terms of health, safety and wholesomeness of agri-food products.Design/methodology/approachA sample of consumers was surveyed in farmers' markets and social network analysis (SNA) was adopted as a methodological approach to reconstruct the links between the worlds of production and consumption and to derive the relative importance attributed to various factors that promote relational structures.FindingsThe work demonstrates the importance of sustainability – as a productive and behavioural model of firms – for the construction of efficient and durable relationship systems in two farmer markets in Sicily. In particular, four fundamental components emerge in the construction of networks represented by consumer sensitivity to sustainability processes, the individual behavioural model of purchasing and consumption, the expectation of political direction and the level and factors of knowledge of the firm. The clustering elements of the relationships were found to be the territory and local products, the environmentalist attitude and the protection of resources, as well as the adoption of a rational waste disposal policy, the fight against food waste, the encouragement of healthier and more sustainable consumption styles, clear and transparent communication and the activation of sustainable supply chain processes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Originality/valueThe paper aims to demonstrate how alternative food systems can become a useful model for large enterprises, which are committed to rebuilding their business strategy to overcome the current crisis.


Introduction
The recovery of the global economy in the post COVID-19 pandemic era will see the role of the green economy emphasised, requiring increasingly widespread innovations in production/ processing/distribution but also in consumption to facilitate resilience, transition and reconstruction of economies (Di Marco et al., 2020).
The societies of the future will thus be called upon to become increasingly inclusive and sustainable, thanks also to green innovations (Abu Hatab et al., 2021). This process does not exclude agriculture, a sector that at European level seems to be the recipient of the innovations envisaged by the "Green Deal EU" strategy and the related strategies "Biodiversity 2030", "From farm to fork" and "Action plan for the circular economy". These strategies will be more or less widely implemented within the CAP reform for the next programming period until 2027 (Cesaro et al., 2020;Peeters et al., 2020).
However, the political discussion on the future of the CAP is still in progress and although some preliminary documents hint at this green perspective, the final agreement will be the result of mediation between the EU Parliament and the EU Commission and, therefore, of the confrontation between the interests of governments, who want to regain lost positions in terms of the real economy, and citizens, who have rediscovered a great interest in environmental issues (ASviS, 2019;Pe'er et al., 2020).
As a result of the above, it is clear that the green transition is now strongly conditioned by the consequences of the pandemic crisis and the effects produced by concerns about food security, rising supply chain and logistics costs, and radical changes in consumer behaviour (Rejeb et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2020;Savary et al., 2020). As the world's population fears for its vulnerability, awareness of the consequences of human behaviour on the environment, health and food consumption has increased (Farcas et al., 2021); awareness of food waste and the importance of home-grown food has also increased (Gupta et al., 2020;Rejeb et al., 2020).
In this context, consumers, particularly in advanced countries, are increasingly interested in products (and packs) that are hygienically safe and able to guarantee hygiene and prevention, in healthy and health products to achieve higher levels of personal and environmental well-being (Caron et al., 2018); finally, consumer interest in local products and localism is growing (Nomisma, 2020;Hobbs, 2020).
Therefore, in the face of this scenario, it is not excluded that consumers will increase their interest in the different alternatives to the industrial agri-food model, known in the literature as alternative food networks -AFNs or short chains or direct sales (Goodman et al., 2012). Within these, in fact, some salient elements are recognised such as social cooperation and partnerships between producers and consumers, the ability to reconnect production and consumption using sustainable models, the ability to enhance local markets with regional identity and reaggregate value to the circulation of quality and differentiated products, such as organic products (Darolt et al., 2016;Fraser et al., 2016;Kessari et al., 2020). The trust relationship was maintained during the COVID pandemic, partly due to social ICT technologies (Ahani and Nilashi, 2020).
AFNs in all their forms, therefore, represent the means through which it is possible to reconstruct the system of relationship and trust between production and consumption, which was interrupted in the traditional agri-food system as a consequence of lockdown, quarantine and pandemic distancing; in them, therefore, there is the natural concentration of a demand exercised by a consumer attentive to ethical aspects, sustainability and biodiversity (Butti Al Shamsi et al., 2018).
Network actors develop formal and informal relationships, which are a powerful mechanism for the localisation of food systems and their survival (Feenstra, 1993;Brinkley, 2018).
In this context, the present research aims to understand to what extent through social relationsdirect and indirectwithin AFNs it is possible to (1) determine the increased sensitivity of the consumer towards the issue of sustainability; (2) express the capacity of the local system to recover sustainability performance; (3) manifest resilience to the pandemic economic crisis by supporting small producers, food security and adequate nutrition for families.

Purchasing behaviour in farmer markets
The research was carried out in Sicily, at farmer's markets in Catania and Palermo, where a representative sample of consumers was surveyed to study the relational dimension and to help policy makers improve intervention strategies.
2. Analysis of agri-food consumer relations in recent literature Relationshipsdirect and indirectconstitute a relevant foundation in the construction of food systems and in the interpretation of their dynamics; therefore, they have been the subject of specific attention according to different perspectives of analysis and study (Tang et al., 2018).
Some useful references can be traced back to "actor network theory" and "supply chain management theory" because they argue that relationships based on trust and cooperation are fundamental to the strength and vitality of networks. However, empirical investigations differ according to the upstream and downstream levels involved in production/processing, distribution and consumption for conventional and alternative food systems, such as AFNs, respectively (Lockie and Kitto, 2000).
In the upstream (push) perspective, i.e. starting from production and extending downstream along the distribution chain, a study of the relationships between suppliers, producers, workers, processors, brokers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers within the specific regional geographies of these networks has demonstrated the importance of promoting cooperation and trust (Jarosz, 2000).
In this process, a relevant role is played by seasonal markets, structures that eventually reconfigure social and material relationships and provide solutions for food security and a more sustainable food system (Audet et al., 2017).
An examination of the emerging relationships between producers and consumers in response to broader processes of social and political transformation in Austria (Schermer, 2015) brought to light the potential role of AFNs as a modern form of community supported agriculture (CSA).
Relational environments represent the contexts within which new and different sources of power are mobilised and new practices and institutions are co-constructed and legitimised in the transition of agri-food systems. Transformations of food systems thus depend on the variety of interactions (Rossi et al., 2019).
In the downstream (pull) perspective, i.e. in analyses that focus on consumption in order to obtain useful information to orient production/processing and distribution activities, there are several contributions related to the role that a certification system can play in the process of building relationships and the value recognised for products. An interesting paper analyses the role of certification in AFNs to explore the relationship and tensions between the horizontal and vertical dimensions of embedding processes and to understand the complexities of agri-environmental governance (Higgins et al., 2008). In this case, certification favours the configuration of AAFNs even if it is not sufficient to win the trust of consumers, which is why producers have to spend a lot of resources on the creation of the relevant market (Brinkley, 2018).
Social capital is recognised as a source of trust and collective commitment within a community for the regional qualification of food products through collective branding (Crespo et al., 2014). The activation of social networks through some elements of social capital (friendship, kinship, acquaintance, collaboration and cooperation) move specific clusters, studied through social network analysis (SNA) which has shown that relationships can be established formally and informally to foster the development of local agri-food systems (Enriquez-Sanchez et al., 2017).
Relationships also underpin inter-food chain relationships. To this end, an interesting study approach highlights how contrary to what we are used to observing conventional and alternative food chains do not represent separate paradigms in different European rural contexts, but rather highly competitive contexts that are related to each other (Sonnino and Marsden, 2006).
Finally, formal networks have been used to study the sustainability performance of organic farms within local production systems and SNA is a useful tool in identifying the strengths and limitations of organic farms in terms of achieving holistic sustainability impacts. The role of institutions (local communities, research, certification stakeholders, consumer groups, etc.) in collaborative networks is also emphasised because they create space, experiment and legitimise new innovations towards sustainability (Butti Al Shamsi et al., 2019).

Materials and methods
The survey was conducted in the farmers' markets of Catania and Palermo, two metropolitan areas located in eastern and western Sicily, which alone intercept the food demand of a potential pool of 2.1 million consumers. Since in both metropolitan areas there are several farmers' markets operating on different days of the week, it was decided to choose only those markets operating on Saturdays and Sundays, which are the days with the highest number of customers. Therefore, on these two days the markets were preferred according to the number of producers (with selection of markets with a higher volume of products offered), turnover (turnover produced by the whole market) and the presence of typical regional products. The survey was carried out in two stages: the first between the end of June and mid-July; the second between mid-September and the first week of October, periods identified in accordance with the limitations imposed by the pandemic lockdown imposed by the national authorities.
A total of 1,000 consumers were surveyed, including regular visitors to farmers' markets. A questionnaire was administered to the consumers in order to analyse, in a network and sharing perspective: (1) their degree of sensitivity towards sustainability behaviour; (2) their purchasing behaviour; (3) their degree of knowledge of the subjects on offer; (4) their perception of the sustainability actions adopted by companies able to win their trust. The answers, for privacy reasons, were coded with an ID code (S#); the subjects interviewed were informed of the purpose of the survey and anonymity was guaranteed.
The objective of the processing wasin addition to enhancing the information collectedalso to characterise the network or network whose link between the nodes is represented by an affinity, choice, address or common characteristic in order to identify the strengths or weaknesses of the network itself.
The networks were analysed through SNA, using UCINET software. SNA is a theoretical-methodological perspective that analyses social reality, starting from its reticular structure (graph theory), assuming that actors participate in social life by creating links with other actors and that these links influence reciprocal behaviour (Scott, 1988).
The process of analysis is purely analytical and starts from the construction of an affiliation matrix (case matrix 3 affiliations) creating a two-way correspondence between consumers and their preferences/needs, addresses and characteristics identified by the survey responses (affiliation network).
The affiliation matrix, the "place" where the survey data are collected, is a rectangular matrix also known as a two-mode network. It describes the participation of a defined group of actors (consumers) in a specific set of events (survey responses). It thus comprises two different types of nodes: actors and events. The relationships in the cells indicate, in the case of binary data, the participation (1) or absence (0) of actor i in event j (Borgatti et al., 2009). From this, it was possible to construct two valued type co-membership matrices composed only of survey responses where each matrix element quantifies their sharing between actors (consumer network) or composed only of consumers where each matrix Purchasing behaviour in farmer markets element quantifies survey response sharing (survey response network) (Knoke and Yang, 2019).
Networks have been described through a graphical representation based on the language and tools of graph theory. This is the so-called sociogram or graph and consists of a two-dimensional diagram formed by a population N of nodes (also called points or vertices) and a set of connecting lines between pairs of nodes indicating the presence of a relationship.
Then, the structure of the network was studied in its aspects of Cohesion and Centrality through the following measures (Wasserman and Faust, 1994):

Cohesion measures:
(1) Density: this is one of the most important descriptive statistics and is used as an indicator of the general level of cohesion of the social network under consideration. It represents the proportion of ties actually established between the nodes of the social network out of all possible ties. It takes values between 0 and 1: values close to 0 indicate low density and thus low levels of cohesion, while values close to 1 indicate high levels of density and thus high levels of network cohesion. Density is equal to 1 in the case of complete networks, i.e. those where all nodes are connected to each other, while density equal to 0 highlights a social network with poorly aggregated nodes, in which participants have mostly non-reciprocal relationships. Often low density values identify isolated nodes (which have no relations with other nodes in the graph), or pending nodes (nodes connected to only one other node in the entire social network); (2) Average degree: number of average relationships between nodes in the social network; (3) Average geodesic distance: average distance between nodes in a social network. Geodetic distance means the shortest path existing between two adjacent nodes; (4) Diameter: maximum distance between two nodes (number of jumps from one node to another) within a social network.

Measures of centrality:
(1) Degree: centrality based on the degree of popularity, given by how many outbound/ inbound links a node has. It is equal to the absolute value of the sum of the "choices" received by a node, seen as incoming and outgoing links, by the other nodes inhabiting the social network; (2) Betweenness: centrality of a node, based on its being an intermediary between other nodes. It is based on the frequency with which each single node is in the shortest path connecting every other pair of nodes. If the value of the index is high, we are probably in the presence of a "junction": an inhabitant of the network, important and of reference in communications, exchanges and connections between different areas of the network or even capable of connecting two different networks. It therefore indicates the hubs, i.e. the facilitators of relations; (3) Closeness: centrality of a node, based on its proximity to other nodes. It is fundamental in studies of social networks to understand the speed with which a node, within its network of belonging, can exchange information with other nodes. The value ranges from 0 to 1. If the value of this index is low, the node in question takes a few steps to reach any other node in the network, thus being able to exchange information quickly. We can say that this index is a measure of the nodes' vitality in spreading information within the social network.

Characteristics of the sample surveyed
The sample is predominantly male (56%) and aged between 35 and 60 years (61%), as shown in Table 1.
In line with other research on short production-consumption circuits (Wolf et al., 2005), they have a medium-high level of schooling and training (13 years in 31% and 16 years in 20%; 18 and more years in 44%) and come from the peri-urban area of the chosen metropolitan city (Catania and Palermo, in 56%), travelling an average distance of between 1 and 5 km to reach the market (48%). This again expresses the interest in products, values and relationships conveyed through farmers markets (Brown, 2002). The level of employment is self-employed (freelance, in 47% of cases) or employed (clerical, in 23%), while cohabitation is with other family members (83%), of whom there are children in only 55% of cases.
Finally, the family income is mainly placed in the range between 40 and 60 thousand Euros (41%) and in the immediately preceding range (between 20 and 40 thousand Euros), for 38%, thus suggesting a wide diversity of socio-economic situations involved in this distribution formula.
The sample also shows a specific knowledge of environmental issues and of the tools with which companies communicate ethical and environmental values to customers (Dodds et al., 2014), such as specific brands (Table 2).
To this end, 24 sustainability labels adopted by companies in different areas of activity were shown and the highest levels of knowledge were recorded for the carbon footprint (99% of the sample), the EU organic label (around 87%), the "slow food" and "recycled" product Purchasing behaviour in farmer markets labels, respectively with 76% of knowledge each and, finally, the "Agenda 2030" (47%), "ecolabel" (41%) and "ISO 14001" (32%).
This knowledge is important because several studies show the consumer's interest in the environmental, social or economic challenges that humanity is facing and the value of the brand for differentiating the offer in a competitive market (Gupta et al., 2013;Suki, 2016).

Network of individual consumer awareness of sustainability
The first step of the evaluation concerned the determination of the level of consumer awareness of the issue of sustainability, in order to demonstrate whether and to what extent such an attention can favour the construction of relationship systems preparatory to agrofood purchases.
To guarantee the anonymity of the interviewees, the questions contained in the questionnaire were extrapolated and coded ( Table 3).
The sample showed particular sensitivity towards the rationalisation of electricity and water consumption, participation in the separate collection of paper, glass, plastic and spent batteries, and the use of reusable shopping bags and energy-efficient household appliances in daily life.
All this is confirmed within the graph of the affiliation matrix (Figure 1), while a partly contradictory view of the behaviour results from the marginality within the network of "use of ecological detergent products (S_U3)", "use of returnable packaging/packaging (S_U4)", "rationalise other (S_R3)" and "choose fair trade products (S_S4)".
The essential elements around which trust relationships are built within the market are represented by the sharing of some essential principles in the food choices, represented by the attention paid to the label as a tool of information about the origin and the provenance of the product (S_S1), the interest towards proximity distribution formulae (S_S6) and local products (S_S3) and the availability towards local raw materials constituting ingredients for home-made food preparations (S_S2) and organic (S_S7).
The strength and frequency of the links obtained by cross-referencing the data through the matrix "sensitivity x sensitivity factors", show the attention paid to the protection of resources (water, S_R2) and finds expression in purchasing behaviour that tends to favour the territory (Figure 2).
In order to locate the position of the sensitivity factor in relation to that of the others in the network the centrality index was calculated; in this way it becomes immediately visible if the factor has a position of strategic importance in the overall structure of the network and if it is    (Table 4).
The highest normalised degree value is related to the attention paid to the choice of local products (S_S3); in the behavioural scale important values result (between 0.6 and 0.7) for the attention paid to the observation of labels (S_S1) and the corresponding behaviour towards the separate collection of plastic, paper and glass (S_D1, S_D2 and S_D3) and the use of recyclable shopping bags (S_U1).
In addition, the behavioural factors between 0.5 and 0.6 that highlight the link between sensitivity to environmental issues (S_R2, S_D4 and S_U2) and purchasing behaviour that favours organic consumption (S_S7), preparing food at home (S_S2) and shopping in local shops (S_U2) are central.

Network on habitual purchasing behaviour
The aspects of purchasing behaviour covered by the survey concerned the recurrent distribution channel for purchases, the determinants of choice, the importance of organic products in the food shopping list, the weight given to information and, finally, some aspects related to trust ( Table 5).
The graph of the affiliation matrix (Figure 3) shows the marginality in the network of the factors related to the recurrent channels for purchasing, with the exception of the farmer market (purchase from the producer (A_A8); purchase from the distributor (A_A9); purchase in discount stores (A_A2); purchase in a small nearby supermarket (A_A3); purchase in a delicatessen or grocery store (A_A5); purchase in supermarkets/specialised shops (A_A6); purchase in GAS (A_A7); purchase of fruit and vegetables (A_P2)).
The graph highlights the close behavioural interrelationship that characterises those who prefer to buy organic or sustainability certified products (fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish, beverages, frozen food and ice cream) and the influence of factors that condition their choices such as the brand/company (A_I4) or the packaging (A_I6) and the level of information provided on control (A_G9), production standards (A_G8), production methods (A_G6) and counterfeiting (A_G5). Thus, the role of reputation (brand/company) and packaging is important in determining a sustainability impact that is appreciable in the eyes of the consumer. These results are also partly driven by the increasing use of social media channels by farmers active in the farmer market to promote their products and to schedule home delivery of groceries throughout the week.
Correlating the behavioural factors with the relative matrix ( Figure 4) shows the marginality of the factors of purchase from GAS (A_A7) and preferences for frozen/frozen products (A_P3), demonstrating the existence of an antagonism between farmer market and GAS distribution formulae, to the advantage of the first modality and the lesser availability of products in the third range or with a high degree of transformation and conservation. The farmer market appears in the eyes of the consumer as the privileged distribution structure for supplies of fresh produce (Basile et al., 2002;Timpanaro et al., 2016). Figure 4 shows, moreover, the centrality in the consumer's behavioural model of the choice factor "environmental impact of the product" (A_13), as well as of the relevance of the information on sustainability present on the packaging and certifying the "delimited area of origin" (A_G3), the "production standard" (A_G8) and the greater "control" (A_G9).
The index of centrality on the strength of the links (Table 6) shows in the top positions the number of links related to the preference for quality products (A_I2, equal to 0.49), of the territory (A_F2, equal to 0.39), of the environmental impact (A_I3, equal to 0.35) and of organic products (A_F1, equal to 0.34), also as a contrast to counterfeits (A_G5).
These results attest, therefore, to the importance of relationships in the process of choosing and purchasing food products, the quality of which is linked to the recognition of the organic product and the territory; moreover, organic farming is the chosen tool for the construction of relationship systems and for quality assurance; the certification system has over time won the trust of the consumer in contrast to counterfeiting and, finally, the link lies in the environmental impact of the production and consumption process.
Thus, it is no coincidence that organic farming is emphasised because it represents a useful model for the creation of integrated, humane, ecological and economically sustainable agricultural systems, based in particular on local renewable resources and the management of ecological and organic processes, which are also recognised by consumers (Schader et

Network on consumer expectations of the agri-food system and policy
Another important aspect in the analysis of the relational system built within farmers' markets is represented by that set of factors that direct the purchase because they are closely linked to the experience of individuals and to the expectations that the latter place in their unconscious on what can be achieved through sustainability in the post COVID reconstruction.
In this context, perceptions regarding quality logos and sustainability certification, the expectations placed in sustainability itself and the consequent actions to be carried out within the company are essential because they are considered useful for the promotion of sustainable innovations (Table 7).  The graph of the affiliation matrix does not highlight any element in a marginal position, confirming the value attitude characteristic of buyers in farmers' markets ( Figure 5). Thus it is evident that the corresponding affiliation pairs are linked through common actors in the case of quality logos and the function they play in purchasing choices, outcomes on food security, natural resource management, climate change mitigation and economic growth, as well as actions that need to be developed at the societal level to strengthen sustainable purchasing, reduce food waste and stimulate purchasing.
With reference to the individual evaluations (Table 8) it is possible to observe that on average there tends to prevail a vision of the brand as a tool to accompany the choice (I_L4), as well as a dimension of consumption sensitive to the management of natural resources (I_R2) and to the fight against climate change (I_R3). However, the consumer considers it important that there is a greater institutional commitment to encourage consumption (I_A2 and I_A5, for more incentives) and the world of research to increase levels of sustainability in the world of production (I_A3).   Among other things, the greatest concordance in the answers (less variability of views) was recorded for the reduction of waste in the home and in industrial and/or commercial environments (I_A6) and for sales promotion through incentives (I_A2), which according to the graph of the matrix of driving factors are placed on top positions and with a high number of links with them ( Figure 6). The centrality of the network demonstrates the role of agro-food in the construction of an alliance between citizens-consumers and all the subjects of the institutional world and production for the sharing of the common goods of the environment, solidarity and social inclusion (Table 9). Resource management, attention to waste reduction, the importance of innovation and information on organic products are central, with ratings of "over 0.6"; values between 0.5 and 0.6 are recorded for the importance of sustainability in supporting economic growth as a new challenge in the post-COVID era.
4.5 Network on knowledge of producers operating on the farmer's market A final element of analysis is represented by the importance for consumers of the knowledge of the companies, and their level, which operate on the farmer's market. Several studies show, in fact, that the main advantages of buying agricultural products directly from producers lie not only in the freshness of the food, the certainty of its origin and the opportunity to consume seasonal products, but also in the opportunity to create a relationship of trust and knowledge, even in those who have no experience in this type of purchase (Svenfelt and Carlsson-Kanyama, 2010).
The trust and guarantee that characterise direct sales purchases generate a pleasant sensation of a return to the past, of being closer to nature, of contrasting the weakening of the relational system to the point that consumers who buy frequently and live closer to a farmer market tend to have more trust in local food systems than in conventional ones, characterised by a convenience-oriented lifestyle (Chen et al., 2019).
The resulting network on relational trust is constructed through a series of questions coded in Table 10.
In the central area of the graph the factors expressing the level of knowledge tend to aggregate in progressively homogeneous groups, linked to the company's sensitivity to sustainability issues (clarity of objectives and targets for improvement, C_C4; waste differentiation, C_C5; and marketing communication on the sustainability values of products, C_C7), social welfare (management and monitoring of impacts, C_C3; involvement of the upstream and downstream supply chain, C_C8; and active labour policies, C_C9) and connection with the territory (communication and dissemination, C_C1; and voluntary actions and support of local initiatives, C_C2).
Crossing the knowledge factors reveals the depth of the relationships and the capacity of individual companies to coagulate the interest and relationship of consumers on specific aspects of sustainability (Figure 8).     Purchasing behaviour in farmer markets

Conclusions
The topicality of the work is to be found in the transformations taking place across the planet in the post-pandemic era of COVID and in the ever-increasing role that green aspects will play in the behaviour of the various economic players.
In support of this political approach, reference should also be made to the constraints assumed by the various countries in achieving the Millennium Goals with Agenda 2030 and -Note(s): (*) Our elaboration Table 11. Network centrality index on knowledge factors factors influencing purchasing behaviour (2020) (*) Figure 8. Matrix "knowledge factors 3 knowledge factors" -Graph the use of resources (e.g. within the Next Generation EU) earmarked for achieving a green revolution.
However, the COVID pandemic has also brought about changes in individual and collective behaviour and in the systems of relations between different individuals, with repercussions on food consumption (Ipsos, 2020). Thus, the importance of local food, memory, the basic ingredients of food preparations and the health aspects and green innovation in production and packaging have been rediscovered. Thus, knowledge, trust and assurance of quality and health become central elements in reassuring consumers about behavioural values within food systems.
These values represent elements of sharing and cementing a system of direct and indirect relationships within alternative food systems, such as farmers' markets, which thus become a reference model for their potential favourable impact in achieving business value.
In particular, the research has demonstrated the existence of four catalysing elements for the construction of relational networks, represented by individual sensitivity towards sustainability, habitual purchasing behaviour, expectations about the agri-food system and agri-food policy and, finally, knowledge of the system of enterprises operating in farmers' markets.
As found in the literature, consumers who turn to these markets show greater sensitivity to the various aspects of sustainability and its declinations and tend to build relationships around the trust placed in the territory and its products because they are considered to be of quality, on the environmental impact and the safeguarding of important natural resources, such as water, and the adoption of strategies for the separate collection of waste (above all, plastic and glass).
Other relevant aspects are the opportunity to promote healthier and more sustainable eating and consumption styles, to combat food waste and promote a sustainable use of resources, as well as the implementation of sustainability models extended upstream and downstream of the agri-food chain, which are considered indispensable in the transition towards a food system more in line with the expectations of the modern consumer.
Finally, some of the networks are based on relationships linked in common by the need to encourage clear and transparent communication systems on the comparative impacts generated by sustainable and conventional production models, not least because the fragility shown in the face of the rapid spread of the pandemic has made it clearly evident how interconnected the two hemispheres of the planet are and how devastating the effects of intensive use of resources can be.
This work completes the literature on the relational aspects of alternative food networks and, as such, can offer useful food for thought to various stakeholders and public and private decision-makers. This is also because in the post-COVID reconstruction, investment space can be dedicated to strengthening logistics and organisational services in order to guarantee stability to the various realities present in the area, or it can coagulate the interest of new producers interested in communicating their commitment to sustainability and/or the adoption of production strategies based on good practices or agroecology.
Not only that, but on the basis of the results of the research and the importance of the value elements collected, the farmers' market can be a reference model from an environmental, social, ethical point of view, because it produces shared value, for large companies committed to seeking new business strategies to recover from the current crisis through natural, social and relational forms of value creation, as well as financial and manufacturing ones (Saarij€ arvi, 2012; Kuckertz et al., 2019).
Future research will focus on understanding how digital transformation can combine with sustainability to find new answers to consumer expectations.