Bernadett Csurgó, Adrienne Csizmady & Anett Bugyi (2025): Rural gentrification and local food networks: the case of a shopping community in a small Hungarian rural town. Local Environment, DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2025.2472377 (Q1, IF 2.4)

Angol nyelvű abszrakt: 

Academic literature identifies local food networks and producer-consumer communities as important initiators of local community development and sources of sustainable production and consumption. A small producer-consumer community, a so-called shopping community, in a small rural town in Hungary is examined in this case study. The size of the region and the limited number of potential consumers lead to a number of specific characteristics. Both the organisers and many of the producers in this shopping community are urban newcomers to the region, and are members of higher social status groups in the local society. The initiative is based on a number of principles and methods of environmental sustainability and applies very strict criteria for the involvement of the producers. Through interviews with organisers and producers and focus groups with consumers and local stakeholders, the case study analyses aspects of social inclusion and exclusion. Who is allowed to participate in the community, both to produce and to consume? How embedded is this shopping community in the local society? The case illustrates how a shopping community – a local food network – can contribute to the social exclusion of local producers and consumers, as well as to the process of rural gentrification, even though it also contributes to environmental sustainability. The article explores the pros and cons of local food systems from a social and community point of view.