Food Democracy in Solidarity Purchasing Groups? Some Evidence from Case Studies

In the framework of the decrease in producer–consumer distances and of the process of establishing alternative food networks (AFNs) in many countries, scholars have identified common traits and characteristics of network forms and have analyzed their impact on food chains. Usually recognized as forms of production, provisioning and consumption of food often active in local contexts and with a role in transition of food chains toward sustainability, AFNs are also innovative organizational forms shaped by civil society with a potential impact on transition of food systems toward sustainability. Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs) are specific kinds of AFNs with the objective of providing food to the group members. Food democracy (FD) is understood as a set of processes needed to increase the political, economic and social power of food system actors through their participation in the decision-making process, in order to achieve justice and equity, environmental and health protection in the food system. The study analyzes SPGs governance and explores the Hassanein’s five dimensions of FD in 20 selected case studies in Sicily and Umbria, in order to investigate how FD is aligned with the pursuit of achieving SPGs goals. A questionnaire was developed investigating five thematic areas and completed by the 20 SPGs. The evaluation of the attention given by the studied SPGs to the five dimensions of FD confirmed the complexity and dynamic nature of the phenomenon, characterized by different modalities of active participation, social justice embeddedness and promotion of the sustainability of the agri-food system.