Challenges and Resiliency of a Rural Food System: A Case Study of Food (In)security in Carbondale, Illinois

This qualitative case study assesses the reasons for high levels of food inse-curity in Carbondale, Illinois. The research takes on secondary-data analysis to understand power relations and behaviors in the agro-food complex, govern-ment, and wider socio-political and economic structures that influence Carbon-dale's food insecurity. This information then builds the basis for semi-structured interviews with key actors in Carbondale's food system to see which aspects of these macro-structures are most influencing the town's food system, food inse-cure individuals, and their other inter-related capabilities. The study seeks to un-derstand more about; first, retail concentration; second, income poverty and com-peting basic needs; third racial, class, and spatial inequalities; fourth institutions' ability to empower the food insecure population.