Game-Changing Research
Development of Resilient Urban Food Systems That Ensure Food Security in the Face of Climate Change
An interdisciplinary team of researchers is working to make fresh produce grown in cities and other urban environments more resilient to climate change with their project, "Development of Resilient Urban Food Systems That Ensure Food Security in the Face of Climate Change."
Project Description and Details
Food systems research is inherently transdisciplinary as its challenges are complex. The emerging discipline, Urban Food Systems (UFS), examines the multi-organizational ecosystems in urban areas and their impacts on food security in those communities. Although urban areas often experience the most acute symptoms of poor food system resiliency, these topics have become extremely important in rural and peri-urban communities as well.
This transdisciplinary team aims to develop analytical tools to assess the long-term sustainability of urban agricultural systems through the required broad lens. Their short-term goals are to forge collaborations between team members and develop an assessment tool that will evaluate the impact of urban agriculture on agricultural productivity, community health, environmental sustainability and overall food systems resiliency.
Additionally, preliminary data for future National Institute for Food and Agriculture NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Systems proposals will be developed by conducting several "seed" projects that are new to K-State and the team.
The long-term goal is to conduct work that will result in transformational change to address global food security. Results of this work will be relevant to policy makers, city planners, educators, consumers and agriculturalists in urban and rural communities.
Funding Source
The project is funded by K-State's Game-changing Research Initiation Program, or GRIP. In July 2023, Eleni Pliakoni, Ph.D., professor of urban food production and postharvest handling and the project's principal investigator, was awarded $1.2 million for the three-year project.