Studying Food System Approaches in Three Types of Rural

Communities

Mary Hendrickson, MU ExtensionRandy Cantrell, UNL Rural Initiative

Project Personnel

Mary Hendrickson Tom JohnsonJessica Scott

University of Missouri Extension

University of Nebraska Rural Initiative

Our project: NCRCRD Small Grants• Received small grant to

focus on food system strategies for rural development that enhance– quality of life– health – economic vitality of

communities.

• Looked at 3 distinct rural areas in Nebraska and Missouri

Three parts to our work• Literature Review on local

foods– What was the latest information coming out?– USDA published Local Food

Systems: Concepts, Impacts and Issues as project progressed. See http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err97/

Agriculture of the Middle

Three parts to our work

• How are rural communities using local food system strategies?

• Added more explicit economic component– Northeast Agricultural

and Resource Economics Association Workshop on the Economics of Local Food Markets, June 15-16, 2010

Finding out about food system strategies

• One day convening in SE Nebraska and Northern Ozarks in Missouri where groups could connect via ITV– Extension personnel developed

invitation list of those involved in local foods through production, facilitation, consumption or economic development

• Overview of the food system to stimulate discussion, then presentations from each community on their strategies involving local food systems

• Focus Group conducted at each site exploring local food systems - definitions, constraints, benefits, information and resources needed

• Report of the conclusions groups reached to the other group

Finding out about food system strategies

Similar Issues in 2 Different Rural Areas

• Access to good markets– Agreement that markets

in rural areas are challenging

• Affordability of food in low-income rural areas vs. livelihoods of farmers

• Lack of supply for some existing markets– E.g. Hospital in Salem

interested in sourcing local foods but few farmers with capacity and interest to supply

Similar Issues in Disparate Rural Areas

• Number of producers who had fixed philosophies on producing and selling– ‘This is the right way to sell my food.’ – Value statements about how they wanted

to produce and sell their products – ‘market should adjust to me’

• Interest in local food systems from multiple points of view, including health– Community gardens, healthy living

significant themes

Decided to Study In-depth• Applied for AFRI Sustainability for Small and

Medium-Sized Farmers grant in 2010• Look at some of the ideas from preliminary research

like affordability, rural development– Some assumptions that rural areas already have access

to this kind of food– Different obstacles in rural areas to local food systems

especially in terms of limited numbers of consumers as well as producers to aggregate

• New theme was to determine economic impacts of local food systems

Key Questions to Answer:• What are the motivations of small and medium-

sized farms to produce for local/regional food systems? Are strategies that incorporate local/regional food systems useful for helping farmers with small and medium-sized operations meet their whole life goals?

• What are the economic and social impacts of local/regional food systems for rural communities? What are the opportunities for small and medium-sized farms located in remote rural to capture value for their communities from urban areas?

This project work is being supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-67023-30084 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

• What are the factors that motivate consumer behavior as they relate to locally grown foods in different geographic and socioeconomic contexts? – Does access and desire for locally produced foods differ based

on income and geographies? – Are rural and lower income consumers more likely to be

focused on price as a basis for food purchases? – Are urban consumers more likely to incorporate preferences

for quality, taste and values into food purchasing decisions?– Alternately, are rural consumers highly motivated to acquire

locally grown foods due to their proximity to farms and farming neighbors, provided their price threshold is not exceeded?

Key Questions to Answer:

For Local Food Systems for Rural Development, the Key Question is

• How do the values and motivations of farmers producing for local/regional food systems link with consumer values and motivations?

Rural Community Development:

EconomicEnvironmental

SocialCultural

Rural and Urban Consumers:

Increased access to locally grown foods for

reasons of health, taste, quality and values

Prosperity of Small and

Medium-Sized Farms:

ProfitabilityAbility to Meet Whole Life

Goals

Regional Food

Systems

Carsey Institute Typology

Approach• Check out project website at:

https://localfoodlinkages.wordpress.com/• Producer Survey with approx. 180 farmers –

Jan – Mar 2012• Input/Output Survey with 30 farmers – Oct

2012• Consumer Focus Groups – Late Summer Fall

2012 – early 2013

Local Producer Survey

• Who? Anyone who has sold or is selling local foods to neighbors, at farmers’ markets, roadside stands, to school food service anything

• What information do we want to know? What channels are they using, what are their motivations, what are their perceived opportunities, what are the barriers to participating in local food systems, approximate volume etc.

Economic Input/Output Survey

Ask selected producers from across these regions to estimate income from local food sales that takes place in their area, the state or outside of those areas, and then to estimate the expenses in the same way

Focus Groups Conducted with Rural and Urban Consumers

Type of Consumer

Spatial Context Direct Market Conventional

Remote Rural

Salem Farmers MarketSalem, Missouri (chronically poor)

Rural Ozarks Grocery 1&2

Rural Old Trails Farmers Market (declining resource, amenity rich)

Rural Old Trails Grocery 1 &2

Rural Nebraska Farmers Market (declining resource dependent)

Rural Nebraska Grocery Store 1&2

Micropolitan Rolla Farmers Market Rolla Grocery Store

Medium Metro

High Income Omaha Farmers Market High Income Omaha Grocery Store

Low Income Omaha Farmers Market Low Income Omaha Grocery Store

Large Metro

High Income Kansas City Farmers Market

High Income Kansas City Grocery

Lower Income Urban Market Lower Income Urban Grocery

Interested in motivations for shopping for local foods, perceived benefits, opportunities and constraints for their participation in local food systems

The funding for both phases of this work is extremely appreciated.

• Thank you to the North Central Region Center for Rural Development, part of USDA’s network of rural development center for their award in their small grants program that established our partnership and funded preliminary research.

• Thank you to USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Small and Medium-Sized Farms research program for support for our research. (2011-67023-30084)

Questions?

• To contact project personnel, check out the website: localfoodlinkages.wordpress.com or contact one of us:– Dr. Mary Hendrickson – hendricksonm@missouri.edu or

573-882-7463– Dr. Tom Johnson – JohnsonTG@missouri.edu or 573- 882-

2157– Jess Scott – ScottJR@missouri.edu or 573-882-3776– Dr. Randy Cantrell – rcantrel@unlnotes.unl.edu or 402-

472-0919– Kim Peterson – kpeterson2@unl.edu or 402-472-9287