TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose A body of literature and case studies has developed as part of the reporting, outreach and evaluation of the local and regional food system projects supported by grants and other funders. Yet, there is concern that food value chains are promoted without adequately evaluating the viability of these businesses, or how these markets affect the performance and welfare of key stakeholders: farm vendors and local communities/economies. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews and summarizes a comprehensive set of U.S.-based case studies focused on food value chains. We conduct a meta-analysis to systematically capture what available case study evidence tells us about: 1) trends in the viability of food value chain businesses; 2) the impact of these businesses on participating farm vendors; and, 3) the associated community economic development outcomes (framed in terms of ‘wealth creation’).Findings In addition to sharing findings from the meta-analysis, we demonstrate how the lack of standardized protocols for case study development is a barrier to learning about metric comparisons, best practices, and what impacts these food value chain businesses may have. We conclude with some recommendations of how the field can move forward to evaluate and share lessons learned using more uniform, project-driven case study development.Originality/value This is the first study to conduct a systematic meta-analysis of U.S. food value chain businesses.
VL  - 118
IS  - 5
SN  - 0007-070X
DO  - 10.1108/BFJ-10-2015-0403
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-10-2015-0403
AU  - Angelo Blake E.
AU  - Jablonski Becca B.R.
AU  - Thilmany Dawn
ED  - ChristopherJ. Griffith
ED  - ChristopherJ. Griffith
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - Meta-analysis of U.S. intermediated food markets: Measuring what matters
T2  - British Food Journal
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -