In 2016 Shadi Hashem, PhD research student at the University of Palermo in Italy, spent time at ORC investigating consumer food choices around organic food and box schemes. This involved a survey of box scheme customers to better understand how they make their food shopping decisions. A summary of the findings was reported in ORC Bulletin 122 – Ticking the anti-globalisation box. Shadi’s research has now been published in the British Food Journal.
Consumers of small local organic box schemes in England are both altruistically and hedonistically motivated. This includes a strong political motivation to change the current food system, as shown by the strong influence of an anti-globalisation factor and wanting to support small farmers. They perceive local organic food as a more environmentally sustainable alternative to the mainstream food system. The box schemes offer consumers a practical alternative by providing high quality products combined with convenience illustrating the importance of the latter also in local food shopping. This reinforces the possibility to successfully combining the attributes of “local” and “organic”.
Hashem S, Migliore G, Schifani G, Schimmenti E, Padel S (2018) Motives for buying local, organic food through English Box Schemes). British Food Journal.
