Sustainable Optimization of Food Networks in Disenfranchised Communities
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2017 American Chemical Society. With the growing concerns about food security around the world, there is a need to develop sustainable strategies and proactive measures especially in developing countries with disenfranchised communities. These strategies must account for the specific nature and resources of each community and should be integrated with the need for economic growth. This work presents a conceptual framework and a mathematical programming model for the strategic planning of a sustainable food assistance program to satisfy the nutritional needs of disenfranchised communities while taking into account the objective of economic growth and the constraints of local resources. A case study from Mexico is presented as an example of applying the proposed approach. Fourteen municipalities with the lowest human development index are considered. The results show that it is possible to satisfy the nutritional needs while simultaneously improving the local economy of these disenfranchised communities.