In part to accomplish these goals, teams of researchers and community partners reviewed and compiled available data into a single data warehouse to facilitate analysis and visualization. The initiative began with a review of the mission statements from national local and regional food system network organizations. Mission statements were organized into six categories – labor, local food sales infrastructure, business development and food infrastructure, community resources, nutrition security and food access, and policy. Document briefs identifying key related data indicators available nationwide at the county level were prepared for each category, except policy.

This project team developed Data Integrity Considerations* to help ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of data as people use, analyze, interpret and share their work. These Data Integrity Considerations are meant for anyone who plans to utilize the data shared on this website, collect additional data for their own projects or provide funding for others to collect data.

The data warehouse is open-source and additional contributions are welcome.

*The categories used in the Data Integrity Considerations are based on the 7 categories identified by We All Count.