The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers

Fernández-Casal, Laura; Karakaya Ayalp, Emel; Öztürk, Sevim Pelin; Navas-Gracia, Luis Manuel; Geçer Sargın, Feral; Pinedo-Gil, Julia

doi:10.3390/agriculture15030229

Open AccessArticle

The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers

by

Laura Fernández-Casal

^1,*,

Emel Karakaya Ayalp

²

,

Sevim Pelin Öztürk

²

,

Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia

^3,*

,

Feral Geçer Sargın

²

and

Julia Pinedo-Gil

¹

CARTIF Foundation, Parque Tecnológico de Boecillo, Parcela 205, 47151 Boecillo, Spain

²

Department of City and Regional Planning, İzmir Democracy University, 35140 İzmir, Turkey

³

TADRUS Research Group, Department of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Agriculture 2025, 15(3), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030229

Submission received: 16 December 2024 / Revised: 7 January 2025 / Accepted: 17 January 2025 / Published: 21 January 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies for Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems)

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Abstract

The current conventional food system is led by large-scale agribusinesses, characterized by industrialized production and increasing distance between food production and consumption. In response, alternative food initiatives (AFIs) have typically emerged as grassroots initiatives that may not be uniformly distributed or accessible. Food deserts, areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food, are often discussed without considering food quality. Addressing this, this article aims to assess food deserts for healthy, local, and sustainable products in 11 European cities, comparing conditions before and after the implementation of innovative actions focused on shortening food chains during three years of study. The methodology involves locating alternative production and consumption spaces (APSs and ACSs) and drawing a walking distance around them, identifying densely populated areas outside these radii as food deserts. The results show that the implementation of AFIs has reduced food deserts in 9 out of 11 cities (average from 10.1% at T0 to 7.4% at Tf), opening new market opportunities for local producers and increasing consumer access to local and sustainable produce. The implementation of this study’s approach can potentially transform food deserts into food oases, enhancing food security and sustainability.

Keywords: food deserts; food oasis; alternative food initiatives; food security; food accessibility; short food supply chains; sustainability; market opportunities; local producers

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fernández-Casal, L.; Karakaya Ayalp, E.; Öztürk, S.P.; Navas-Gracia, L.M.; Geçer Sargın, F.; Pinedo-Gil, J. The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers. Agriculture 2025, 15, 229. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030229

AMA Style

Fernández-Casal L, Karakaya Ayalp E, Öztürk SP, Navas-Gracia LM, Geçer Sargın F, Pinedo-Gil J. The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers. Agriculture. 2025; 15(3):229. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030229

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernández-Casal, Laura, Emel Karakaya Ayalp, Sevim Pelin Öztürk, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia, Feral Geçer Sargın, and Julia Pinedo-Gil. 2025. "The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers" Agriculture 15, no. 3: 229. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030229

APA Style

Fernández-Casal, L., Karakaya Ayalp, E., Öztürk, S. P., Navas-Gracia, L. M., Geçer Sargın, F., & Pinedo-Gil, J. (2025). The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers. Agriculture, 15(3), 229. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15030229

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The Quality Turn of Food Deserts into Food Oases in European Cities: Market Opportunities for Local Producers

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