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Locally grown consumers : The socio-material agencing of alternative food consumers

Fuentes, Christian LU orcid ; Bååth, Jonas LU orcid and Eriksson, Emmelina LU (2026) In Journal of Rural Studies 126.
Abstract

The paper investigates how alternative food network (AFN) consumers are formed as market actors through socio-material processes of agencing. Drawing on ethnographic studies of REKO markets in Sweden—a digitally mediated model of direct-to-consumer local food exchange—the study challenges essentialist understandings of consumers as fixed entities with stable preferences. Instead, it conceptualises consumers as emergent actors, socio-materially made through interaction with AFN arrangements. Drawing on constructive market studies (CMS), the analysis identifies four interconnected consumer-agencing processes: educating (developing the skills to navigate REKO's ordering, pick-up, and food preparation routines), equipping (accessing and... (More)

The paper investigates how alternative food network (AFN) consumers are formed as market actors through socio-material processes of agencing. Drawing on ethnographic studies of REKO markets in Sweden—a digitally mediated model of direct-to-consumer local food exchange—the study challenges essentialist understandings of consumers as fixed entities with stable preferences. Instead, it conceptualises consumers as emergent actors, socio-materially made through interaction with AFN arrangements. Drawing on constructive market studies (CMS), the analysis identifies four interconnected consumer-agencing processes: educating (developing the skills to navigate REKO's ordering, pick-up, and food preparation routines), equipping (accessing and assembling the material infrastructure necessary for participation), ethicalising (cultivating dispositions that frame REKO consumption as morally desirable), and engaging (building social ties with producers and fellow consumers). These processes are mutually constitutive, dynamically shaping consumer capacities and dispositions. The study shows that consumer-agencing is key to the successful recruitment, retention, and development of AFN participants. Our analysis shows that the problems described in previous research—such as inconvenience, cost, and accessibility—are also common among REKO consumers. However, in this case, the problems experienced by consumers when trying to engage in the REKO market are solved, sidestepped, or counterbalanced as a result of processes of consumer-agencing. This suggests that what sets apart successful AFNs from unsuccessful ones is not the presence or absence of consumer-related problems, but differences in how effective the processes of consumer-agencing are.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
AFN, Agencing, Consumers, Local food, Markets
in
Journal of Rural Studies
volume
126
article number
104311
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105044048252
ISSN
0743-0167
DOI
10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104311
project
Digital infrastructures for sustainable consumption: Redirecting, reorganizing, reducing and reimagining consumption
Service Studies Consumption
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Authors.
id
27898fb5-f5dd-4079-96a1-1849a6729eea
date added to LUP
2026-07-17 10:59:31
date last changed
2026-09-15 13:01:46
@article{27898fb5-f5dd-4079-96a1-1849a6729eea,
  abstract     = {{<p>The paper investigates how alternative food network (AFN) consumers are formed as market actors through socio-material processes of agencing. Drawing on ethnographic studies of REKO markets in Sweden—a digitally mediated model of direct-to-consumer local food exchange—the study challenges essentialist understandings of consumers as fixed entities with stable preferences. Instead, it conceptualises consumers as emergent actors, socio-materially made through interaction with AFN arrangements. Drawing on constructive market studies (CMS), the analysis identifies four interconnected consumer-agencing processes: educating (developing the skills to navigate REKO's ordering, pick-up, and food preparation routines), equipping (accessing and assembling the material infrastructure necessary for participation), ethicalising (cultivating dispositions that frame REKO consumption as morally desirable), and engaging (building social ties with producers and fellow consumers). These processes are mutually constitutive, dynamically shaping consumer capacities and dispositions. The study shows that consumer-agencing is key to the successful recruitment, retention, and development of AFN participants. Our analysis shows that the problems described in previous research—such as inconvenience, cost, and accessibility—are also common among REKO consumers. However, in this case, the problems experienced by consumers when trying to engage in the REKO market are solved, sidestepped, or counterbalanced as a result of processes of consumer-agencing. This suggests that what sets apart successful AFNs from unsuccessful ones is not the presence or absence of consumer-related problems, but differences in how effective the processes of consumer-agencing are.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fuentes, Christian and Bååth, Jonas and Eriksson, Emmelina}},
  issn         = {{0743-0167}},
  keywords     = {{AFN; Agencing; Consumers; Local food; Markets}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Rural Studies}},
  title        = {{Locally grown consumers : The socio-material agencing of alternative food consumers}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104311}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104311}},
  volume       = {{126}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}