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Item Open Access Assessing Food Systems Resilience in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom(UVM Institute for Agroecology, 2025)Item Open Access Co-creation of knowledge in the research work of the West Africa Community of Practice(UVM Institute for Agroecology., 2025-11)The West Africa Community of Practice (CoP) of the Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS; McKnight Foundation, 2023) program includes Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, and is a valuable space for co-creating knowledge and critically reflecting on participatory action research approaches. The program focuses on agroecology and places particular emphasis on scientific research that strengthens transdisciplinary collaborations and dialogues as a means of promoting sustainable and equitable transformation of food systems. The research work is mainly carried out in farmer-researcher networks (FRNs; Nelson et al., 2019; Richardson et al., 2022) and is sometimes in synergy among several projects within the program. Participants include actors from farmer organizations, scientific institutions, civil society, and non-governmental organizations. FRNs aim to stimulate the participation of producers in research work and serve as a structure for the co-creation of knowledge with rigorous scientific content relevant to the network's territory. Over time, the CoP's commitment to the principles of agroecology, as defined by the FAO (FAO, 2018), as well as the principles of FRNs (CRFS, 2021; Richardson et al., 2021), has inspired a deeper understanding of their meaning in both agricultural practices and participatory research methodologies.Item Open Access Agroecology and Public Development Banks: Transforming Development Finance for Equity and Resilience(UVM Institute for Agroecology, 2025)In this report, we join a growing international effort to use the United Nations High-Level Panel of Experts’ agroecological framework as a guiding reference for financing agricultural and food-system development. These principles provide an framework to consider how PDBs can advance equitable food systems transformation. Our scoping study combines multiple methods, including 12 expert interviews, three focus groups, and a comprehensive literature review. We present a series of PDB case studies that exemplify different ways these institutions are operationalizing agroecological principles. Readers should note that PDBs differ significantly in their structure and operation. This report is a scoping study intended to open discussion and points to areas where more detailed research is needed to better understand current links between PDBs and agroecology, and to explore new ways PDBs can more effectively support principles- based agroecological development.Item Open Access Structural and Health-Related Factors Associated with Loneliness in Older Vermonters(2026-01-28)Background: Loneliness is associated with increased morbidity and mortality among older adults. National studies identify transportation barriers, functional limitations, and reduced social networks as contributors, but Vermont-specific evidence remains limited. This study examined demographic, structural, health-related, and social factors associated with loneliness. Methods: Adults aged 55 years and older utilizing senior centers or senior housing completed a 32-item self-reported REDCap survey, in person, by mail, or online. Validated instruments included the Transportation Insecurity Index (TSI-6), Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6), UCLA 3-Item Loneliness Scale, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS-6) disability measures, and a 1-item self-rated health measure. Descriptive statistics and two independent sample t-tests were used to assess associations with loneliness. Results: Sixty-four participants completed the survey. Greater loneliness was significantly associated with higher age (p=0.027), current employment (p=0.012), transportation insecurity (p<0.001), functional disability (p=0.009), and smaller social networks (p<0.001). Respondents aged 75 years and older reported significantly smaller social networks (p=0.016), as did those reporting a significant cognitive impairment (p=0.036). Participants completing the survey from private residences reported significantly higher loneliness compared with those living in senior housing (p=0.020). Qualitative findings reinforced these associations, highlighting limited and infrequent bus routes, inadequate rural transportation coverage, unreliable transportation services, and barriers to participating in community programs. Conclusion: Loneliness among older Vermonters was strongly associated with transportation insecurity, functional disability, smaller social networks, age, and residential setting. Improving rural transportation infrastructure, increasing the reliability of specialized transit services, and expanding accessible community programming may reduce loneliness and promote healthy aging and social connection across Vermont.Item Open Access Community Meal Programs as a Strategy to Address Food Insecurity and Social Isolation in Vermont’s Aging Population(2026-01-28)Background: Nutrition risk and food insecurity are major contributors to poor health outcomes in older adults. In rural settings, higher nutrition risk is strongly associated with greater fall risk, highlighting nutrition as a key modifiable determinant of functional health. Vermont has seen worsening access to healthy food since the pandemic, and community meal programs (CMPs) may help address social isolation and nutritional needs. Understanding the experiences of community meal participants can improve programming and outcomes. Methods: Nutrition Risk Assessment (NRA) data from adults (≥60 years) enrolled in programming was obtained from Age Well to determine baseline nutritional risk. Separately, CMP participants were interviewed in-person across three sites in Chittenden County, VT from October to November 2025. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using categorical thematic analysis to identify themes. Results: Baseline NRA data (n=735) showed that participants were classified as low (59.9%), moderate (25.7%), and high (14.4%) nutrition risk group. Thematic analysis of interviews (n=41) revealed that most CMP attendees reported adequate food access. Socialization was the most frequently cited driver of CMPs attendance, followed by food-related factors such as quality, affordability, and accessibility. Limited meal companionship at home also emerged as a common experience among participants. Conclusion: Social connection is a key driver for CMP attendance, highlighting CMP's role in supporting nutritional and social needs of older Vermonters. Since nutrition risk was low for the majority of interviewees, further research is needed on CMPs to evaluate its efficacy and accessibility in combating food insecurity in high-risk CMP participants.
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