Culture

Alternative food networks (AFNs) are differentiated from conventional food systems by the strength of consumer connection with the food itself and the food businesses that grow, harvest and sell the food. Actors within AFNs include micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) and it is the businesses themselves and their modus operandi at the business–consumer interface that are the focus of this work. Using two stages of semi-structured interviews, 39 in total, conducted in Greece and the UK in 2022–2023, the aim of this study was to explore respondents’ perceptions of the role and influence of MSMEs within AFNs in creating consumer food-related values and promoting higher levels of engagement with the food itself. The 5Cs typology emerged from the thematic analysis of the interviews. The businesses demonstrated commitment to specific values, had a contextual role in changing wider food system behaviors, and facilitated the continuance of pre-existing high food-related values, providing foci for these consumers. Where consumer food-related values were lower, businesses recalibrated via discussion and education and (re)connected consumers with food, producers and knowledge. In contrast to conventional food supply chains, these businesses and their direct relationship with customers meant the cultural norms and values associated with the foods were continually negotiated, legitimized and operationalized then renegotiated when needed.

In the original publication [...]

This article conceptualizes hospitality as a form of living heritage through which migrants and refugees preserve cultural practices, negotiate belonging, and reshape relations of welcome in receiving societies. Drawing on Walker and Avant’s concept analysis approach, literature from heritage studies, migration studies, hospitality, tourism, sociology, and intercultural inclusion was reviewed and thematically synthesized. The analysis identified four core dimensions of hospitality as living heritage: cultural rootedness and heritage transmission, relational care and reciprocity, adaptation and negotiation across contexts, and intercultural connection and belonging. These dimensions are shaped by migration and displacement, collective memory, experiences of exclusion, and opportunities for intercultural encounter. The findings position migrants not only as guests or recipients of support, but as active hosts, heritage makers, and contributors to social cohesion. By linking hospitality, living heritage, and the cultural politics of welcome, this article offers a conceptual framework for understanding how everyday practices of care, sharing, and reciprocity sustain cultural continuity and foster belonging in migration contexts.