Catherine Campbell, PhD, MPH, is an assistant professor and extension specialist in community food systems with the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences. Originally from Virginia, Dr. Campbell attended the College of William & Mary for her undergraduate degree and then the University of Florida for graduate school.

Dr. Campbell’s research examines the values, motivations and decision making in food systems. Her primary focus is human motivation and behavior, particularly as it relates to farmer adoption of new technologies and practices, the interaction of individuals and communities with food systems, and issues at the intersection of food systems and public health, such as food security and health outcomes. The ultimate goal of her research is to understand how policies and systems can be leveraged to foster a more accessible, sustainable, and resilient food system from producer to consumer.

Her currently funded projects involve work with interdisciplinary teams to address issues in urban food systems, examine implications of emerging technologies, and support the development of new opportunities in food systems, including:

• Citizen-science research on the drivers of household food waste, in order to inform the development of agent-based models to predict such waste and guide policy adoption to mitigate it.
• Applied research on the impact of local food, health and wellness education programs, and interventions in workplace settings to improve dietary patterns and increase purchasing of local food.
• Development of a relational database using artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to monitor and evaluate the impact of the adoption of a values-based institutional food procurement policy.
• Social, ethical and practical considerations related to cellular (lab-grown) meat as a sustainable alternative for animal feed and human consumption.

Dr. Campbell’s extension program focuses on educating county agents, faculty, policymakers and the private sector about how to develop and implement policies and programs to increase incentives and reduce barriers to entrepreneurial, profitable, healthy, local food production and consumption that builds communities. This program has two primary foci.

Local Food Production and Food Policy
Dr. Campbell conducts educational activities a wide range: UF/IFAS Extension faculty; policymakers, including institutional and organizational leaders, local government staff, and elected officials; and agricultural industry groups, leaders, urban and small farms, as well alternative enterprises. The ultimate goal is to foster the adoption of policies supporting resilient community food systems. Such policies include protecting existing farmland, allowing urban agriculture, and committing to values-based institutional food purchasing. To date, Dr. Campbell’s extension impacts have yielded a commitment of $241.4 million dollars of sales for Florida farms and food businesses, more than 60,000 acres that can be used for urban agriculture where it formerly was not allowed, and an estimated savings of more than $1 million dollars annually for Florida farmers.

Health, Wellness, and Local Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
Dr. Campbell’s Extension program connects consumers with fresh fruits and vegetables grown on local farms, in turn supporting local farmers, increasing the resilience of community food systems, and improving dietary patterns. Her work has resulted in two public-private partnerships to support access to local food, with private-sector support of more than $45,000 to promote employee and community residents’ health. Through local food, gardening, and health and wellness education, Dr. Campbell’s Extension program has increased fruit and vegetable consumption and local food purchasing for more than 500 Florida residents in seven counties.