What Research Tells Us About Local Food

Eating local may seem as simple as buying fresh greens at the farmers market, but there’s a lot of theory to back up why these small acts add up to a resilient food community. Studying how and why the local food system is evolving gives organizations like ASAP concrete methods to test the most effective ways to create healthy food systems. ASAP’s Local Food Research Center collects and analyzes data to understand how the perceptions and attitudes of local farmers, food system buyers, and consumers are changing as the region’s food system grows and evolves. The research center surveys a wide range of people engaged in the local food system to find out why they eat local, the barriers they face, and how their experiences with local food and farms have changed over the years. The research center is engaged in many projects, including a multi-year survey of southern Appalachian farmers. Annual interviews with a core group of farmers track the economic, social, and environmental factors that play a role in local food production. These interviews help researchers understand the challenges and opportunities that exist for farmers and what kind of actions need to be taken to overcome those barriers and take advantage of opportunities. Talking to local food consumers is another key part of the research center’s work. Ongoing surveys ask people at farmers markets, farm tours, and other local food events to describe how these kinds of experiences influence the way they think about farms and the decisions they make about food and eating. The data helps ASAP understand the value of these experiences for furthering the development of the region’s food system. More information about ASAP’s Local Food Research Center and its findings can be found at www.ASAPconnections.org