The Economics of Local Food:

an Emerging Community of Practice

We are actively growing a new Community of Practice to help you and your community understand the ag and food enterprise viability, market dynamics and other key socio-economics metrics of local and regional food systems.

Many Hats – A Food Hub Operator’s Toolkit

This is a guide for food hub operators to understand the roles they may play in each phase of a Food Hub’s lifespan and providing peer-generated knowledge, industry context, and direct links to existing and relevant resources across organizational, value chain, operations, and partnership development.

Food Systems Data Equity Framework

This project provides open-access tools and data to illustrate areas of need and opportunities to close equity gaps related to nutrition, food access, food system labor, and agriculture and food business ownership.

Community of Practice for Regional FPCs

To better understand and inform regional approaches to food system governance, this project centers on the contributions and insight offered by participants in a community of practice that includes representatives from 11 regional councils. These councils reflect a diversity of approaches to regional food system work from across the United States.

About Local Food Economics

This website provides a gateway for you to explore work going on throughout the US on food systems, and it continues to grow. Please consider joining our Community as a team member, or by nominating your project that has created original research and/or outreach content in this area. (Follow the Getting Involved menu above)

This community of practice represents a virtual collection of emerging research, program evaluations and initiatives that seek to improve understanding of the complexities and economic potential of local and regional food systems, and their contributions to community and business development.

Through its support of the Toolkit , USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and its research partners have come to realize the importance and power of gathering community-based evidence that provide real-world illustrations of benefits associated with local food investments, while identifying the most appropriate and effective practices for advancing local food systems development. 

Programs and Initiatives

Food Systems Data Equity Framework

Local Food Sytems Response to COVID - Resource Hub

Local Food Impact Calculator

A Toolkit to Explore the Economics of Local Foods

National FTI Metrics

Local Food Economics Resource Directory

National Agricultural Marketing Summit

Benchmarks

Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

Farm to School

Community Supported Agriculture

The Economic Contributions and Impacts of U.S. Food, Fiber, and Forest Industries

Tools for Farmers Market Data Collection, Analyses and Reporting

Pathways to Prosperity

Practitioner and Education Resource Database

MarketLink SNAP/EBT Wireless Equipment Program

Point of Sale

Latest Tweets

Local Food Economics Follow

Helping Your Community Understand the Economic Impacts of Your Local Food Systems Initiatives.

localfoodecon
localfoodecon Local Food Economics @localfoodecon ·
5 May 2023

Economic Impact Assessment of Public Incentives to Support Farm to School Food Purchases
Farm to school is widely supported by policymakers: this webinar shares results on program impacts from Cornell University.
May 18th, 1-2pm (EST)
Register at: https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcof-6pqzwpHt12cE49hqy07bYdhc9k-k0r

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aepp_aaea Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy @aepp_aaea ·
24 Mar 2023

Call for submission on a new Special Issue: The Role and Scope of Agricultural and Applied Economics Departments @AAEA_Economics https://www.aaea.org/publications/aepp/aepp-special-issue-announcement-and-call-for-participation-the-role-and-scope-of-agricultural-and-applied-economics-departments

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localfoodecon Local Food Economics @localfoodecon ·
23 Mar 2023

Communities across the US are seeing shared kitchens as a way to support the food entrepreneurs in their region. These USDA-sponsored case studies and reports share some great insights on successful projects across the country
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional/research-publications/shared-kitchens-and-food-startups

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localfoodecon Local Food Economics @localfoodecon ·
4 Jan 2023

The Food Corridor team will walk attendees through emerging models of shared use kitchens, help communities ID opportunities for renters & programs, guide attendees through planning goals and strategies & best practices for successful kitchen planning & launching.

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localfoodecon Local Food Economics @localfoodecon ·
4 Jan 2023

Planning to open a shared kitchen? Get all of your questions answered, gain access to resources and networking at The Food Corridor’s Shared Kitchen 101 Workshop March 5th, leading up to InTents: The Farmers Market Conference 2023 @TheFoodCorridor

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localfoodecon Local Food Economics @localfoodecon ·
2 Dec 2022

Vermont is hiring several positions! CDAE is a unique dept that includes disciplines often found in individual departments at land grants—applied and ag economics, communication, entrepreneurship, community centered design, and community and international development.

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We invite you to the Consumer Food Insights Series 3.0 Webinar, co-hosted by USDA AMS and Colorado State University. In this webinar, the project team will present new findings from their third nationwide survey of food purchasing and consumer behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may help guide Local and Regional Food Systems (LRFS) business, policy makers, and community organizations.

Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024

Time: 10 AM Mountain Time (12 PM Eastern Time)

Register in Advance Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0sdOysrz0qG9Ul79e6AT-5l94pomLUh76l