Proceedings of ICLT 2019
UNDERLYING SOCIETAL FACTORS AFFECTING URBAN FOOD SECURITY IN THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
Virva Tuomala; David B. Grant
Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland; Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland
International Conference on Logistics & Transport 2019, Hanoi, Vietnam, pp. 36-42
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Abstract
Purpose: This paper reports on an empirical study of societal factors that influence urban food security in the food supply chain in poor neighbourhoods. Urban dwellers are food buyers and thus the role of the food supply chain and grocery retail is paramount in terms of providing food security. This study approaches this issue from the perspective of the food retailers and social workers working with urban dwellers in the poor neighbourhoods to provide a holistic perspective of urban food security and supply chain nexus. Research Design/Methodology/Approach: This study empirical study was conducted in one of the poorer neighbourhoods, known as a township, in the Western Cape, South Africa. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with food retailers and retail experts in the South African grocery market and social workers working in the township. Secondary data regarding the South African grocery market was also used to underpin the primary research. Findings/Research and Practical Implications: The food supply chain treats food as a commodity and operates with a goal of making profits for companies involved along the chain. However, the retail outputs from this supply chain is the main source of nutrition for urban populations and has significant societal impact through this function. Food retail wields notable power throughout the supply chain and can therefore influence the societal repercussions of the food supply chain, i.e. access to nutritious food for poorer populations. The Living Standards Measurement (LSM), a unique market research tool in South Africa, divides the demographic into ten segments, one being the lowest and ten the wealthiest. Township citizens are generally placed in LSM 1-4. Formal food retail outlets are clearly segmented towards certain LSMs. Limited buying power limits the selection of stores near townships, but there is an element of contradiction as the real buying power in terms of volume in South Africa is in the lower LSMs. Ev
Keywords
Humanitarian Logistics; Text Mining; Latent Dirichlet allocation; Topic modeling
Citation
Virva Tuomala; David B. Grant (2019). UNDERLYING SOCIETAL FACTORS AFFECTING URBAN FOOD SECURITY IN THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN. Proceedings of the International Conference on Logistics & Transport (ICLT 2019), Hanoi, Vietnam, pp. 36-42.