Last Updated on July 27, 2020 by Caroline Warwick
This summer, many academic conferences have moved to an online format in the wake of COVID-19. The Association for the Study of Food and Society was no exception, hosting their #FoodStudies20 conference on Twitter.
Catherine Campbell, assistant professor of community food systems, joined the conference, presenting her multidisciplinary project, “Connecting Farmers to Consumers: A Food Systems Approach to Support Family Farmers.”
Campbell’s project includes Extension and research faculty from the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, UF/IFAS Extension and the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences.
Follow along with Campbell’s Twitter thread below:
Hello @ASFS_org/@afhvs_org #foodstudies20 Conference! I will be presenting “Connecting Farmers to Consumers: A Food Systems Approach to Support Family Farmers” a multidisciplinary project with with Extension and Research faculty from @UFMREC @UF_IFAS @UF_IFASResearch @UFFYCS 1/ pic.twitter.com/nOKqnhD1Oz
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
The Tri-County Agricultural Area (TCAA) in Northeast Florida is home to ~50 family farms with revenues >$500,000/yr. Primary crops are table stock & chip potatoes, & cabbage, with ~16,000 acres in potato production and 10,000 acres in other vegetable production #foodstudies20 2/
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
In response to a negative 10-yr market outlook for family farms in the TCAA, a feasibility study was conducted in 2016 highlighted the viability of French fry manufacturing as a business solution for struggling TCAA farmers. #foodstudies20 3/
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
With willing farmers & a good market analysis, we needed to identify high yielding, heat stress-tolerant potato varieties for processing into French fries for Florida. This need led to a 2 yr, stakeholder driven research project to support TCAA family farmers #foodstudies20 4/
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
This collaborative project involved TCAA potato growers and collaborators from University of Florida’s @UFMREC @UF_IFAS @UF_IFASResearch @UFFYCS and Horticultural Sciences Department, and Food Sciences and Human Nutrition Department. #foodstudies20 5/
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
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2nd objective was to assess consumer preferences of the top 5. 200 panelists rated the appearance, texture, flavor, and overall acceptability of each sample on a 9-point hedonic scale (1= dislike extremely – 9=like extremely). #foodstudies20 8/ pic.twitter.com/ap36aiyEKH
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
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The 1st objective was to evaluate the yield & quality of russet potato varieties and advanced potato breeding lines from several states as well as @USDA_ARS breeding programs for their adaptation to Florida’s unique growing environment with short season. #foodstudies20 6/ pic.twitter.com/EoQCBNkBs9
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
We evaluated yield, internal & external characteristics, & production parameters for 23 potato clones in 2017 and 28 in 2018. The top 5 potato varieties were transported @UF_IFAS, where they were washed, peeled by hand, rinsed in water, and sliced into fries. #foodstudies20 7/ pic.twitter.com/ApOW97vbQR
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
After tasting panelists rated the importance of locally grown, taste, brand, & low-fat on at 10-point scale (1= not important at all, 10=extremely important). Overall, taste was most important (9.23) & locally grown was second to last (5.82). #foodstudies20 9/ pic.twitter.com/8sTJN1cEYR
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
Easton tended to be rated the highest for most attributes highlighting a key opportunity for TCAA potato farmers. #foodstudies20 10/ pic.twitter.com/hj38npEHNL
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
This project provides a model for identifying new market opportunities for family farmers with an interdisciplinary food system team from farm to consumer—including farmers, Extension, plant breeders, processors, chefs & social scientists #foodstudies20 @UF_IFAS @UFMREC @UFFYCS pic.twitter.com/PYFNOKUMoN
— Catherine G Campbell PhD, MPH (@GatorLiving) July 24, 2020
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