Conference Agenda

Most studies of food resilience adopt a ‘macro’ perspective and consider the functioning of the food system at the national or even international scale. At the centre of these studies typically lies the capacity of the food system to withstand or adapt to the effects of external disturbances and its ability to restore the status quo. The key question is the degree of the food system’s resilience, not whether it is or is not resilient. In the context of the Global North, a resilient food system is usually associated with policy interventions aimed at enhancing resilience, these interventions are confined to the market food system and understood as a result of organised groups’ lobbying and campaigning. In this paper, we take a profoundly different approach to studying food system resilience. First, instead of the macroscale perspective, we are concerned with the food system at the micro-level perspective of individual households and their interactions with other households. Second, rather than considering the degree of resilience that arises from political activism and policy actions, we focus on everyday behaviour that is rarely motivated politically. Third, and most importantly, we do not limit our analysis to the commercial food sector but explore how households navigate the complex terrain of market-, alternative market and non-market food sources. The underlying idea is that households combining these three sources of food have a good chance of being more resilient than those that have to rely solely on the mainstream market sector. The results of the twelve focus groups we conducted with different types of households in different geographic contexts do not show the households as seeking to maintain or restore the status quo. Instead, the multiplicity of resources enables them to creatively explore food securing options, considering individual values ​​and local conditions. We combine this qualitative data with the results of a representative survey of Czech households, determining the share of households involved in non-market food production and sharing, and the amount of food produced in these networks. The results show a significant contribution of non-market household food networks to food system resilience.

The shift towards sustainable living necessitates systemic transformations supported by transformative knowledge that integrates diverse forms of expertise, practices, and innovations. Within alternative food systems (AFS), knowledge emerges as a hybrid of expert and lay insights, blending scientific research, traditional practices, and experiential learning. This study focuses on the commodification and institutionalization of sustainability knowledge in Hungary's AFS and its transformative potential for regional development and the ecological paradigm shift.
The interplay between conventional Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) and grassroots alternatives is crucial to understanding these dynamics. Alternative systems thrive on community-based knowledge production, citizen science, and informal networks, while formal AKIS offers structured resources. This research highlights the hybrid spaces where mainstream and alternative food systems interact, creating opportunities for mutual learning, cross-fertilization, and systemic transformation.
However, significant challenges remain, including fragmentation of knowledge networks, limited accessibility, and conflicts between competing food systems. Addressing these barriers requires integrating social innovation, citizen engagement, and digital tools—such as AI—to enhance knowledge exchange and foster resilience. By examining the economics of knowledge in AFS, this study provides critical insights into the hybridization of food systems, offering policymakers and practitioners actionable strategies to bridge divides and strengthen food system resilience.

Achieving sustainable and healthy diets for all is a key goal within the scope of initiatives like the European Green Deal and its Farm-to-Fork strategy. However, socially vulnerable populations face significant barriers in accessing sustainable and nutritious food. This paper explores the enablers and constraints shaping food practices in diverse geographic, cultural, and socio-economic contexts.

Drawing on 50 narrative interviews conducted in Austria, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey as part of the ACCTING project (Advancing Behavioural Change through an Inclusive Green Deal), funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, the study employs a gender+ intersectional framework to analyse the individual and structural factors influencing food access, consumption, and waste.

The findings reveal that economic constraints are the most significant barriers to sustainable diets, heavily influencing purchasing decisions and limiting access to healthier options. These constraints, however, often lead to adaptive strategies such as reducing food waste and leveraging community networks or urban gardening for supplemental food production. Structural barriers, including geographic inaccessibility and insufficient infrastructure, further restrict the availability of nutritious and sustainable food.

Cultural values, beliefs, and gendered dynamics also play an important role in shaping household dietary choices. Enablers include strong community support systems, localized food production, and increasing environmental awareness. Urban gardening and solidarity networks are identified as transformative practices, offering both material and emotional support to vulnerable groups.

Regional variations underscore the importance of localized approaches. Younger participants in Greece and Sweden exhibit a greater tendency toward sustainable diets, driven by education and cultural shifts, while narratives from Turkey and Portugal highlight the critical role of community solidarity and local production in mitigating food insecurity.

By disentangling the complex interplay of economic, social, and cultural factors, this study deepens understanding of how to foster sustainable and healthy diets among vulnerable populations.

The Sand Ridge is one tenth of Hungary’s territory, and is located within the Danube-Tisza Interfluve region, a lowland with highly diverse environmental conditions embraced by the two main rivers of the Carpathian Basin. The landscape has been characterized by wetlands and dry sand grasslands. However due to aridification processes (also exacerbated by industrial agricultural practices) this dry-wet duality of the landscape is fading away.The region is well integrated to the globalized capitalist food system. Conventional agribusiness is facing challenges in relation to climate change, as the region was severely affected by drought in 2022 and 2024. To overcome livelihood challenges in an aridifying region a handful of farmers, small and large scale, became interested in (semi-)alternative production practices. Regenerative agriculture promoted by the TMG-REAG Association includes the practices of the use of cover crops, no-till, strip-till or direct sowing, can be applied in both small and large scale and has a potential to improve soil quality and water management. Other alternative production practices (such as organic and permaculture farming) are normally not viable for farmers as they are highly labour intensive. These practices are popular among backyard farmers and often are undertaken by women as unpaid care work. We aim to conduct narrative interviews with both industrial and regenerative agricultural farmers from the Sand Ridge, including those ones, who are engaged in extensive grazing systems as well as backyard farmers focusing on food self-provisioning both with and without an engagement in permaculture/organic farming. Our aim is to better understand how the different stakeholders of the food system(s) engage in different food production practices and how their strategies contribute to their individual and household resilience and how (bio)regional resilience is reflected in their narratives. This research is conducted within the framework of the “Increasing Resilience through Bioregional Planning in the Sand Ridge” project (FK_146599) financed under the NRDI FK_23 funding scheme.