City Research Online

Abstract

Background
Most food and nutrition-based interventions are abandoned within two years of implementation due to a lack of secure long-term funding and political volatilities. Social enterprise structures are a potential solution to this problem due to their ability to generate profit and impact social outcomes. Therefore, this scoping review sought to explore what social enterprise models exist that address food and nutrition-based outcomes, and the factors that contribute to their long-term financial and operational sustainability.

Methods
Scoping review methodology was utilised, with cross-checking currency of the social enterprise via Google (July, 2024). Eight search engines were explored, generating 2502 publications. Twenty-eight (20 case studies, 1 cross-sectional study, 6 evaluations and 1 quasi-experimental) studies were entered into a narrative synthesis.

Results
Eight different operational models from 13 countries were identified: social cooperative; employment; targeted customer service; beneficiary service; market intermediary; social partnership; trading business; and social business. The most utilised model was the targeted customer service. The average duration of the enterprises was 16.5 years, showcasing that sustainable models that continue to deliver on social impact can have longevity.

Conclusions
Social enterprises that adopt a business model from the outset are capable of generating income, whilst offering solutions to delivering on and sustaining food or nutrition-based outcomes within communities. There are several business models, though different, that have proven to have longevity. These models enable profit and social purpose to co-exist, benefiting the communities they serve.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Publisher Keywords:	Social enterprise, Health promotion, Public health nutrition, Community, Entrepreneurship, Food, Nutrition
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Departments:	School of Health & Medical Sciences School of Health & Medical Sciences > Department of Population Health & Policy
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

Export

Downloads