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Joann Hennessey, Ph.D., is a 2025 graduate of the Ph.D. Program in Environmental Studies and Sustainability at Antioch University, New England.

Dissertation Committee:

Abigail Abrash Walton, Ph.D., Committee Chair

Elizabeth McCann, Ph.D., Committee Member

Elizabeth Koebele, Ph.D., Committee Member

Keywords

local food system, local food advocacy, policy process, advocacy coalition framework, Detroit’s local food movement, advocacy policy interface

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This explanatory qualitative case study applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to study Detroit’s local food policy changes from 2000 to 2022. The research question and sub-questions were framed using three ACF hypotheses that addressed advocacy coalitions, collective action, and policy change. My research showed how actors in the policy subsystem worked to promote policy change during the study period. Using this Advocacy Coalition Framework approach, I explored local food policy change in the context of community resilience and system changes. Since 2000, the local food movement in Detroit attempted system changes by experimenting with ways to provide local residents with food access and options not available from the larger food system. This study highlighted Detroit local food advocates’ work to achieve policy change. The local food movement planted gardens and farms throughout the city. The local food movement activities amplified the use of urban agriculture and may have influenced public opinion and allowed for policy change. The local food system changes highlighted in this research represented local level innovative and creative changes that did not impact the larger food system. My research showed how actors in the policy subsystem worked to promote policy change during the study period. This research contributed to the literature in three ways. First, the ACF-framed case study added to local and municipal policy process literature. Second, this research added food policy to the areas researched using the ACF. Lastly, the concept of the advocacy policy interface was conceived of during the candidacy phase of my studies and explored in this case study. This examination of the Detroit Local Food Policy Subsystem provided a starting point for further exploration of Detroit’s local food policy change efforts. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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ORCID No. 0000-0001-6183-7152

Bio:

Joann M Hennessey, PhD, has practiced law during the past twenty-five years. Hennessey became vegan overnight after reading about the treatment of animals and our food systems' impact on the environment. Once vegan, she started to learn more about local food and wanted to understand more about our food system and the policies that support it. Her interest in the environment and desire to further her education led her to consider completing a PhD. The combination of her legal, human rights, and PhD studies helped to shape her understanding of the importance of local food and local food policy to the communities that they serve. Along with her MS and PhD in environmental studies from Antioch University New England, Hennessey also holds a Master in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, a Juris Doctoral degree from State University of New York at Buffalo, a Master of Law from the University of Miami, and a Master of Law from St. Thomas University.

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