Understanding informality...
How does timing and gendered targeting of consumers affect consumers’ food purchase behavior? How is informality defined and studied in empirical literature that is conducted in the food environment? What factors in the social-political environment affect the livelihood and operations of informal food vendors? How is migration, particularly rural-to-urban migration, associated with livelihoods in the food system? We're exploring these questions to more deeply understand informality in the food system.
- External Food Environment Surveillance Systems
- Scoping Review on Informality in the Food Environment
Development of External Food Environment Surveillance Systems Using a Tele-cohort of Informal and Formal Food Vendors in Two Secondary Cities in Kenya
Overview
This project aims to develop a method for establishing and using an external food environment surveillance system (EFESS) to monitor changes in food environments. EFESS will be a longitudinal cohort of food vendors, similar to a demographic surveillance system, from which we will gather data remotely (aka "tele-cohort"), adaptable for use in informal food sectors. Additionally, EFESS will serve as a research tool and participatory mechanism to involve food vendors in policy discussions.
This project addresses key questions about food environments:
- How does consumer timing and targeting, including gender considerations, influence food purchasing behavior?
- Do the roles of informal food vendors, especially females contributing to nutrition, hold true in different settings, from urban to rural?
- How do informal vendors adapt when formal retail food vendors are present?
- How does food vending fit into women's livelihoods, influenced by factors like capital, regulation, and networks?
- How does migration, particularly rural-to-urban, impact livelihoods in the food system?
These questions are central to our research, aimed at informing more inclusive food systems policies.
Project Team:
- Ramya Ambikapathi, Co-PI, Senior Research Associate, Cornell's Food Systems & Global Change
- Nilupa Gunaratna, Co-PI, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Purdue University
- Simon Kimenju, Co-PI, Executive Director and Lead Researcher, Kula Vyema Centre of Food Economics
Supported by:
- Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Read the full article to learn more about this project and hear directly from the researchers.
A scoping review on measuring informality in the food environment and the impact of the informal food environment on nutrition and livelihood
Overview
The informal economy is a significant means of livelihood for marginalized populations, particularly women and migrants, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Within this informal economy, the food environment, where food is sold to consumers, serves as a common source of employment through various avenues such as street vending, kiosks, mobile setups, market stalls, and home-based sales. Despite its prevalence, there is no widely accepted or standardized definition of informality within the food environment. Past research has demonstrated that informal food vendors play a crucial role in alleviating food insecurity and facilitating convenient food access for low-income consumers.
We seek to understand:
- How informality is defined and studied in empirical literature (qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods) that is conducted in the food environment
- What factors of the informal food environment have been studied regarding food choice and dietary outcomes
- What factors in the social-political environment affect the livelihood and operations of informal food vendors (bribes, safety, regulation, local governance, access to capital, sanitation.
Project Team:
- Ramya Ambikapathi, Senior Research Associate, Food Systems & Global Change, Cornell CALS Department of Global Development
- Elizabeth L. Fox, Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Public & Ecosystem Health, Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine
- Rachel Bezner Kerr, Professor, Cornell CALS Department of Global Development
- Stella Nordhagen, Senior Technical Specialist, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
- Swetha Manohar, Fellow of the Global Food Ethics and Policy Program, a Joint Initiative of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the School of Advanced International Studies
- Nilupa Gunaratna, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Purdue University
- Avery Sirwatka MPH '24, Graduate Research Assistant
- Jacob Blizard ’25, Undergraduate Research Assistant