Local food infrastructure not keeping up with demand

USDA study finds opportunity

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jan 11, 12.

The growing supply of local food options across the country have not been keeping up with the growing demand for local food, according to Food Navigator USA, reporting on a new report from the US Department of Agriculture (pdf):

This research documents that sales through intermediated marketing channels, such as farmers’ sales to local grocers and restaurants, account for a large portion of all local food sales. Small and medium-sized farms dominate local foods sales marketed exclusively through direct-to-consumer chan- nels (foods sold at roadside stands or farmers’ markets, for example) while large farms dominate local food sales marketed exclusively through intermediated channels.