{"692108":{"#nid":"692108","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Getting Food to the Neighborhoods That Need It Most","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBBISS researcher\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/nicole-kennard\u0022\u003ENicole Kennard\u003C\/a\u003E is mapping how Atlanta\u0027s local food ecosystem functions today, how the people inside it envision its future, and where the opportunities for transformation lie. A summer research trip to Europe brought back fresh models and new energy for the work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHow does Atlanta\u0027s local food ecosystem function today? How do the people working inside it envision its future? And where are the opportunities for transformation?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose three questions drive the systems and network mapping research of Nicole Kennard, a research scientist and assistant director for Community-Engaged Research at Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sustainablesystems.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EBrook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems\u003C\/a\u003E (BBISS). Within a systems map, Kennard charts intersecting food challenges and the intervention strategies that could address them. A companion social network map reveals the relationships that already exist across the food ecosystem and who needs to be brought together to create change. Both feed into the Atlanta Food System Research Network, an effort to increase coordination and build teams around the food system\u0027s most stubborn, systemic challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe mapping regularly shows one significant gap: One in eight metro Atlantans are struggling to access food. Although more local farmers are growing good food, there is a \u201cmissing middle layer\u201d of infrastructure connecting that food to those who need it, according to Atlanta\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/climateresilientatl.com\/climate-resilience-action-plan-2026-low.pdf\u0022\u003E2026 Climate Resilience Action Plan\u003C\/a\u003E. Food produced by smaller farms often can\u2019t enter traditional supply chains due to small quantities, so new models are needed to move that food in ways that people can access it within their everyday routines. A summer research trip through France, Belgium, and the U.K. provided her with fresh models for closing that gap.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I learned a lot from these models that I\u0027m trying to bring back to Atlanta for my systems mapping research,\u0022 Kennard said. \u0022One of the biggest issues is we\u0027re missing that middle layer \u2014 better ways to distribute local food so it\u0027s reaching all neighborhoods equitably, and it\u0027s actually accessible.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s not Kennard\u0027s first time working on food systems abroad. After graduating from Georgia Tech with a degree in materials science and engineering and running a student-led hydroponics project that grew food for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.acfb.org\/\u0022\u003EAtlanta Community Food Bank\u003C\/a\u003E, she spent nearly four years in the U.K. as a Fulbright Scholar, earning a master\u0027s in sustainable agriculture and food security at Newcastle University before completing a Ph.D. in chemistry and biosciences at the University of Sheffield in 2023. That background, she said, is part of what draws her to the field. \u0022Food is the great connector.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBringing Ideas Home From Europe\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis summer, Kennard split her time between France, Belgium, and a return visit to Sheffield. At Georgia Tech-Europe, the institute\u0027s Metz campus, she met with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/paul-l-voss\u0022\u003EPaul Voss\u003C\/a\u003E, director of academic programs, to explore future partnerships around sustainable entrepreneurship and research, potentially bringing BBISS-affiliated faculty and coursework to the campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Montpellier, she presented her work to three organizations clustered on a single campus: INRAE (France\u0027s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment), L\u0027Institut Agro Montpellier, and CIRAD, the country\u0027s international agricultural development research arm, along with MOISA, an interdisciplinary CIRAD-affiliated research unit focused on sustainable food systems. There, she encountered a \u0022right-to-food\u0022 pilot in which Montpellier residents, half of whom live in poverty, pay a voluntary monthly amount on a sliding scale, from as little as 1 euro to 150 euros, and all receive a flat 100 euros back, redeemable at a handful of partner supermarkets. She also saw \u0022social grocery stores\u0022 reaching rural areas through mobile markets, and digital platforms, letting neighbors pool their money to buy directly from local farmers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKennard also attended the European Ecological Economics Society Conference in Belgium, where she presented her food systems mapping research and learned about other local food models, specifically farmer-based cooperatives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Sheffield, Kennard gave a talk on community-engaged research methods and came away with insights from their local food network, \u2018\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sheffood.org.uk\/\u0022\u003EShefFood,\u2019\u003C\/a\u003E which is community-led rather than run by the university or city (though both have seats on its board). Leadership rotates every couple of years to keep it grounded in the community it serves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Campus to Community\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKennard\u0027s Atlanta work leans heavily on the students and community partners building it with her. This semester, she is working with incoming computer science Ph.D. student\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tristan-daniel-8b9b26253\/\u0022\u003ETristan Daniel\u003C\/a\u003E to automate her network map, scraping newsletters, news articles, and annual tax filings to keep the map\u0027s data updated in near-real time.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rhutviahircde.my.canva.site\/rhutvi-ahir\u0022\u003ERhutvi Ahir\u003C\/a\u003E, a master\u2019s student in city and regional planning, has been working on integrating the systems map into a publicly available and interactive online platform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast semester, through a BBISS 2025 Sustainability Next Seed Grant project, Kennard, along with principal investigators\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/johannes-milz\u0022\u003EJohannes Milz,\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/people.research.gatech.edu\/ingeborg-rocker\u0022\u003EIngeborg Rocker,\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/carl-disalvo\u0022\u003ECarl DiSalvo\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E, convened 16 community and civic partners for a participatory design workshop mapping how food moves across metro Atlanta and where better data sharing could prevent waste. Drawing on feedback from that session, DiSalvo\u2019s team is now exploring tools such as digital maps that show where surplus food, refrigerated trucks, and distribution sites are located, as well as a dedicated messaging system to coordinate what is now handled through ad hoc texts and calls.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis fall, DiSalvo\u2019s graduate students in the interdisciplinary M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction program \u2014 from computing, design, and social science backgrounds \u2014 will turn those concepts into early prototypes to test with partners, giving students experience designing technology for real community needs rather than just commercial products.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDiSalvo says the core issue isn\u2019t only a lack of food, but the difficulty of coordinating people, resources, and logistics at scale. \u201cThere\u2019s so much need with food insecurity, and resources as well. It\u2019s a coordination challenge. Most people didn\u2019t get into this because they love logistics; they have a commitment to feeding people,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe credits Kennard with helping position Georgia Tech as a hub for food systems and community-engaged sustainability research. \u201cNicole\u2019s work is important \u2014 not just her food systems research, but also the oversight she gives to community-based research. It\u2019s amazing we have her as a colleague.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDiSalvo isn\u0027t the only faculty collaborator.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/sofia-perez-guzman\u0022\u003ESof\u00eda P\u00e9rez-Guzm\u00e1n\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and a BBISS Faculty Fellow, has partnered with Kennard to survey Atlanta residents in West End and citywide about how they access food. Their next step: building a tool based on what they learned.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re designing a decision-making tool that helps connect food locally, from producers to distributors and food access points in the community,\u0022 P\u00e9rez-Guzm\u00e1n said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot every connection requires a grant or a formal project. Through the networks she is building and her continued engagement, Kennard has linked a local consulting group with a co-op needing strategic guidance and introduced a farmers market organizer to a food rescue partner. Community partner Fresh Harvest even referenced her food system network map in a recent presentation to WABE radio\u003Ca\u003E.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022#_msocom_1\u0022 id=\u0022_anchor_1\u0022\u003E[MJ1]\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; According to Kennard, it generated a lot of buzz, underscoring the appetite that Atlantans have for a shared picture of the food distribution ecosystem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETwo Maps, One Goal\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth of Kennard\u0027s maps are expected to go live by the end of the summer. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/foodfutures.research.gatech.edu\/atlanta-food-systems-network-map\/\u0022\u003Enetwork map\u003C\/a\u003E identifies the organizations working in the space and how they connect. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/foodfutures.research.gatech.edu\/atlanta-food-systems-map\/#:~:text=Sustainable%20Systems%20(BBISS).-,Systems%20Map,-Alongside%20the%20network\u0022\u003Esystems map\u003C\/a\u003E, still being finalized, distills her interviews and engagement work into nine key thematic areas emerging as priorities for the city, along with competing visions of what a more resilient food system could look like.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe maps also anchor the research network Kennard co-leads with Emory University Associate Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/envs.emory.edu\/people\/bios\/burchfield-emily.html\u0022\u003EEmily Burchfield\u003C\/a\u003E and agrifood systems researcher\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/katem-d\/\u0022\u003EKate Mundon-Dixon\u003C\/a\u003E. The network has held two gatherings so far, one at a local hydroponic farm, where attendees added their own connections to the map. The network\u2019s active listserv now includes more than 55 organizations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Kennard, the goal was never a single map or tool. It was building the foundation and the infrastructure that let everyone else act together. \u0022I wanted to create this foundational research so that the academics and partners most poised to address specific challenges can create those teams and move forward together,\u0022 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe added that while most of her work is Atlanta-focused, it has implications for regional food access across Georgia. \u201cA key insight that came from my systems mapping work is the need to connect rural and urban growers to move forward a statewide agenda for a resilient food system,\u201d Kennard said. \u201cMy colleague at Emory, Emily Burchfield, is doing a lot more of the rural engagement, and we hope to align our work later.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEverybody in Atlanta\u0027s food space is doing amazing work, she added, noting that, \u0022If we can better align and coordinate under a shared vision and strategy, then we can actually move the needle on systems change, instead of just a few isolated things happening in different neighborhoods.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThree questions drive Nicole Kennard\u0027s research into Atlanta\u0027s local food system. How does Atlanta\u0027s local food ecosystem function today? How do the people working inside it envision its future? And where are the opportunities for transformation? She uses a systems map and a social network map to document what she learns and to connect Atlanta\u0027s food producers, distributers, and consumers.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nicole Kennard researches Atlanta\u0027s food system using mapping and visualization techniques."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2026-08-28 17:04:53","changed_gmt":"2026-08-28 17:25:54","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"681003":{"id":"681003","type":"image","title":"Kennard_Food_Network_Workshop.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EL to R: Carl DiSalvo, Ingeborg Rocker, Nicole Kennard, Johannes Milz, and Vanshika Kumar.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1787936912","gmt_created":"2026-08-28 17:08:32","changed":"1787940193","gmt_changed":"2026-08-28 18:03:13","alt":"Five people stand side by side in a meeting or workshop space with large planning boards displayed behind them. The boards are covered with flowcharts, diagrams, handwritten notes, and sticky notes outlining process maps and project planning information. The group is positioned in front of the displays, with name tags visible.","file":{"fid":"265350","name":"Kennard_Food_Network_Workshop.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/28\/Kennard_Food_Network_Workshop.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/08\/28\/Kennard_Food_Network_Workshop.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":985145,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/08\/28\/Kennard_Food_Network_Workshop.jpg?itok=5XSOpsDM"}}},"media_ids":["681003"],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"},{"id":"660398","name":"Sustainability Hub"}],"categories":[{"id":"194836","name":"Sustainability"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"},{"id":"106351","name":"food systems"},{"id":"11278","name":"Urban Agriculture"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"},{"id":"194566","name":"Sustainable Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrent Verrill\u003C\/a\u003E, Research Communications Manager, BBISS\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brent.verrill@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}