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Transportation and Food Security

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8147

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90713, USA
Interests: policy; last-mile delivery; planning; sustainability; transit
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit your work to this Special Issue, which will focus on the role of transportation in food security. Food security is a basic requirement for creating a healthy and sustainable society. Various elements of the food industry have widespread economic impacts, with food aggregators, food supply chain industries, and transportation playing vital roles in upholding the circulation of food in this industry. Transportation also plays a critical role in ensuring that every individual has access to various food production sources and markets. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “a poor transportation system cuts off access to many food outlets—especially for those who do not own a car or have no access to reliable and affordable public transportation”. A strong nexus among the farmers (as food producers), retailers, and consumers, facilitated by transport, ensures that an appropriate level of food security is guaranteed for all.  

However, this industry faces continuous challenges, and food insecurity remains inevitable in developed, transition, and developing countries, due to a lack of transportation. These challenges need to be adequately researched and brought forth for the benefit of transportation practitioners and policymakers. 

This Special Issue aims to identify the critical role of transportation in the food industry in diminishing food insecurity. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Food distribution systems;
  2. Transport disparity and food security;
  3. Last-mile delivery in the food industry;
  4. Sustainable transportation options for farmers;
  5. Truck driver/workforce shortage in the food supply chain;
  6. Vehicle ownership and food security;
  7. Food access in remote areas;
  8. Grain warehouse location problems;
  9. Freight rail for food transportation;
  10. Food delivery routing;
  11. Transport access to food markets and restaurants;
  12. Transport for food aggregators and online web ordering;
  13. Food security for transit-dependent families;
  14. Transport economics and food access;
  15. Transport policies for food access;
  16. “Grocery gaps” due to transportation;
  17. Transport and food assistance programs;
  18. Transportation, land use, and food security.

Dr. Shailesh Chandra
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food security
  • supply chain
  • transportation
  • policy
  • food industry
  • access
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4862 KiB  
Article
Does Living near Public Transport Equate to Food (In)Security in the United States?—Evidence from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
by Shailesh Chandra, Ramavattula Thirumaleswara Naik and Jose Torres-Aguilera
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13936; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813936 - 20 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1543
Abstract
Food security is intrinsically related to health and well-being. This paper investigates the status quo of food insecurity among the population residing close to transit in various parts of the United States of America (USA). The data from the 2020 National Health Interview [...] Read more.
Food security is intrinsically related to health and well-being. This paper investigates the status quo of food insecurity among the population residing close to transit in various parts of the United States of America (USA). The data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the USA are analyzed in this research. Logistic regression is carried out by treating food insecurity as the dependent variable and socioeconomic variables such as age, income, education, and dependency on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as independent variables. Food insecurity is assessed with aggregated information on four aspects of inputs from those respondents who live near a transit: (1) worry food would run out; (2) food did not last; (3) could not afford to eat balanced meals; and (4) cut the size of meals or skipped meals. Findings suggest that respondents who live close to public transit in the USA and are from large central metro counties of the Northeastern, Southern, and Western states showed an increase in food insecurity if they were under 65 years of age, had income below the country’s median income, or their educational attainment was below bachelor’s degree. There was a significant association found in food insecurity of respondents living close to transit and subscribed to using food stamps or SNAP. Policies that could alleviate food insecurity by reducing the cost of living near transit are recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transportation and Food Security)
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Review

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33 pages, 4474 KiB  
Review
Exploring Food Supply Chain Trends in the COVID-19 Era: A Bibliometric Review
by Abderahman Rejeb, Karim Rejeb, Andrea Appolloni, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Horst Treiblmaier and Sandeep Jagtap
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12437; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912437 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5793
Abstract
Recently, the food supply chain (FSC) has been severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting the vital flow of food products from farmers and producers to the ultimate consumers at risk. Furthermore, due to the pandemic, several food organizations have been prompted [...] Read more.
Recently, the food supply chain (FSC) has been severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, putting the vital flow of food products from farmers and producers to the ultimate consumers at risk. Furthermore, due to the pandemic, several food organizations have been prompted to rethink their strategies for the future. Although the literature on FSC research in the COVID-19 era is increasing, no attempt has been made to summarize this stream of research using bibliometric techniques. This paper fills this knowledge gap and looks at the current scholarly discourse around the FSC and COVID-19. Applying bibliometric techniques, 287 journal articles were extracted from Scopus and analyzed to determine the temporal evolution of FSC research, the most productive journals, researchers, countries, and the most relevant keywords and publications. To construct a keyword co-occurrence network and categorize the relevant literature, we used the computer program VOSviewer. The findings demonstrate the rapid expansion of FSC research during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the top authors, publications, and nations for scientific output were also determined. Keyword co-occurrence network and detailed qualitative analysis both illustrate that FSC research revolves around six main themes: the impact of COVID-19 on the FSC and agriculture, FSC resilience, food waste and insecurity, fisheries and aquaculture, blockchain technology, and governance and innovation. This study represents the first effort to map worldwide FSC research in the COVID-19 era and draw on a comprehensive collection of journal articles and bibliometric approaches. It offers academics, practitioners, and decision-makers a snapshot of the state of the art in the FSC field and points to where further research is needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transportation and Food Security)
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