Durham County Food System: A Qualitative Analysis of Actors, Missions, and Challenges

In the context of a national movement around local food, our clients, the Duke Campus Farm and World Food Policy Center want to know what they can do to best engage with and support the local food system (LFS) in their community of Durham County, North Carolina. We conducted an exploratory case study to characterize the current network of actors within the Durham LFS and the challenges they face, in order to provide recommendations to our two Duke clients. Qualitative analysis of interview data resulted in a network sociogram showing two main clusters of actors, generally separated by sector and mission. The primary challenges facing these actors include financial barriers, lack of communication, and social environment barricades. We recommend that our clients 1) facilitate communication between network actors 2) assist with collecting baseline data for evaluation, and 3) provide relevant policy analysis.