Overview

ERS conducts research on local food systems, including alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and scope, characteristics of local food consumers and producers, and early indications of local food systems’ economic and health impacts. 

• Marketing Practices and Financial Performance of Local Food Producers: A Comparison of Beginning and Experienced Farmers (August 2021)
  This report evaluates the characteristics, production, marketing practices, and financial performance of local food producers with varying levels of farming and direct marketing experience.
• Trends in U.S. Local and Regional Food Systems: A Report to Congress (January 2015)
  This 2015 ERS report provides estimates on sales and farm participation in local food systems, analyses comparing prices between direct-to-consumer outlets and conventional grocery outlets, and local food farm growth and survival between 2007 and 2012.
• Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues (May 2010)
  This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and scope, describes the characteristics of local food consumers and producers, and examines early indications of local food systems’ economic and health impacts.