Farm to institution programs: organizing practices that enable and constrain Vermont’s alternative food supply chains Sarah N. Heiss • Noelle K. Sevoian • David S. Conner • Linda Berlin Accepted: 12 May 2014 / Published online: 23 July 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract Farm to institution (FTI) programs represent alternative supply chains that aim to organize the activities of local producers with institutions that feed the local community. The current study demonstrates the value of structuration theory (Giddens in J Theory Soc Behav 13(1):75–80, 1983; The constitution of society: outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984) for conceptualizing how FTI agents create, maintain, and change organizational structures associated with FTI and traditional supply chains. Based on interviews with supply chain agents participating in FTI programs, we found that infrastructure, relationships, and pricing were seen as important factors that enabled and constrained FTI organizing. Additionally, we describe how FTI organizing serves to simultaneously reinforce and challenge the practices associated with traditional supply chains. Theo- retical and practical implications are discussed as well as directions for future research. Keywords Farm to institution Á Supply chain dynamics Á Food systems Á Structuration theory Abbreviations FTI Farm to institution FSD Food service director Introduction The creation, operation, and evolution of alternative food supply chains have attracted much attention from scholars, professionals, and agricultural agencies. Farm to institution (FTI) programs are relatively new alternative ways for organizing food supply chains. Unlike complex traditional food supply chains, FTI efforts represent partnerships between farmers and institutions in their local communi- ties, including schools, hospitals, senior meal sites, and correctional facilities (Allen and Guthman 2006; Klopp- enburg et al. 2008). To meet the demand for locally and regionally grown food, the alternative supply chains of FTI programs need to be competitive with traditional supply chains’ logistical efficiency and reliability. Pullman and Dillard (2010) argued that for value-based supply chains, such as FTI programs, design and management are the keys to orga- nizational success. Predictable activity and exchange between organizational members can be a key driver of coordinated action and understanding among supply chain agents (Grant 1996). However, while the adoption of new FTI supply chains is increasing, their structure and application is not homogenous (Schafft et al. 2010). Their novelty and inconsistent application requires participating S. N. Heiss Á D. S. Conner (&) Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, 146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405, USA e-mail: david.conner@uvm.edu; 97dconne@uvm.edu S. N. Heiss e-mail: sarah.heiss@uvm.edu N. K. Sevoian Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, 103 North Champlain Street, Burlington, VT 05401, USA e-mail: noelle.sevoian@state.vt.us L. Berlin Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, 252 MLS Carrigan Wing, Burlington, VT 05405, USA e-mail: Linda.Berlin@uvm.edu 123 Agric Hum Values (2015) 32:87–97 DOI 10.1007/s10460-014-9527-1