The participation of immigrants and communities of conflict-displaced former agricultural professionals in the food system has steadily increased in the United States over the past decades. Even though the production and distribution of culturally relevant crops have the potential to nourish the health and social fabric of communities and contribute to the local economy, less is known about the extant literature related to research and outreach on exotic (specialty, ethnic) crops in the United States. This systematic review collating peer-reviewed and gray literature aims to identify, map, and describe existing research and outreach efforts on cultural and ethnic food crops among foreign-born individuals and communities in the United States. Key words relevant to ethnic food crops and immigrant communities were formed into a search string in consultation with agricultural librarian. Review has been conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. This presentation covers preliminary analysis of metadata to understand initial trends in research and publishing. A total of 122 peer review articles were identified using advanced search capabilities of Web of Science. Journal articles on ethnic crops and immigrant communities appeared as early as 1995, and the publication rate since has increased steadily. Journal articles that use the term appear most frequently in Food and Foodways, Food Culture & Society, and Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, publications covering the physical, economic, socio-cultural, and political environment in which ethnic food provisioning occur. Co-occuring terms and top most recent trending topics include adaptation, climate change, consumption, health patterns and food insecurity. Network map of US affiliations publishing research on ethnic crops and immigrant communities indicates author’s collaboration network is still quite dispersed. Understanding the current state of knowledge on ethnic crop research and outreach efforts is key to proposing interventions and policies that can potentially lead to future innovative models of sustainable and culturally relevant local and regional food systems.
