Abstract

Food waste and food insecurity have become a double burden in the Global North. In North America, traditional food supply chains are being challenged by the development of alternative food networks (AFN). On one hand, AFN aim to promote healthy food access through designing socially, economically and environmentally sustainable supply chains that empower local producers and consumers. On the other hand, the circular economy framework aims to redesign linear “take, make, dispose” supply chains into regenerative cyclic supply chains. Yet, little research exists that examines how AFN can close their supply chain loops using a circular economy framework. This multidisciplinary study aims to bridge these two concepts: it explores waste perception and management in alternative food networks (AFN) using a circular economy framework. This study uses a mixed methods approach and is divided into three main research phases. The first phase explores how AFN users perceive waste through a series of live exhibitions and surveys. The second phase identifies waste management practices of AFN actors through structured open-ended surveys. Our findings suggest that waste perception is socially malleable and that AFN actors voluntarily engage in various informal circular economy activities. The third research phase, a case study, generated concrete recommendations for the Citizen Market of Little Burgundy to achieve a closed loop, circular, and collaborative supply chain.