Latin American smallholder coffee farmers linked with fair trade and organic markets are frequently
cited as models for sustainable food systems. Yet many experience seasonal hunger, which is a very
common, but understudied, form of food insecurity. Northern Nicaragua’s highlands include wellorganized cooperatives, high rural poverty rates, and rain dependent farms, offering a compelling study
area to understand what factors are associated with seasonal hunger. This participatory mixed methods
study combines data from observations, interviews and focus groups with results from a survey of 244
cooperative members. It finds that seasonal hunger is influenced by multiple factors, including: (1)
annual cycles of precipitation and rising maize prices during the lean months; (2) inter annual droughts
and periodic storms; and (3) the long-term inability of coffee harvests and prices to provide sufficient
income. Sampled households experienced an average of about 3 months of seasonal hunger in 2009. A
series of five least squares regression models find the expected significant impacts of corn harvest
quantity, farm area, improved grain storage, and household incomes, all inversely correlated with lean
months. Unanticipated results include the finding that households with more fruit trees reported fewer
lean months, while the predominant environmentally friendly farming practices had no discernable
impacts. The presence of hunger among producers challenges sustainable coffee marketing claims. We
describe one example of a partnership-based response that integrates agroecological farm management
with the use of fair trade cooperative institutions to re-localize the corn distribution system. Increased
investments and integrated strategies will be needed to reduce threats to food security, livelihoods, and
biodiversity associated with the rapid spread of coffee leaf rust and falling commodity prices.