The most common and direct way consumers can get access to local foods is either shopping at farmer’s markets or purchasing a CSA. These two options are both expensive and exclusive which can lead to problems of access.
Farmer’s markets are a great tool for increasing the amount of local food for consumers because they are both centralized and plentiful; however, because farmer’s markets are a direct market for farmers, it allows them to set higher prices for their products. Also, because farmer’s markets tend to attract a certain demographic, typically those who are willing to pay a higher price for natural, organic foods, prices tend to be higher than they would be in a standard grocery store. At the moment, it does not seem like farmer’s markets are reaching a wider audience of consumers, particularly the middle and lower income groups, because of both affordability and exclusivity from the existing consumers.
CSAs share a similar trend of a barrier to access; while they provide local food to consumers from farmers directly, they are also only reaching a limited audience. CSAs can be expensive and they require consumers to pay upfront, which can be a limiting factor for some. In addition, CSAs attract consumers who have a certain level of flexibility in the way they eat and are competent cooks because the consumers often do not have a choice in the foods they receive. For many consumers, CSAs are not the right fit because of the commitment and price.
These two models have certainly helped provide a certain amount of local foods to consumers, but also reflect problems of access. One way for local foods to be consumed by more people and for farmers to continue receiving a fair price for their products is for farmers to expand to new markets besides these direct market channels. Other markets such as institutions, restaurants, grocery stores or natural foods stores can be different options for farmers to reach more consumers and also input more local foods into the food system. For example, putting more local foods in schools can get kids excited about local foods, many schools are taking note of the importance of local foods and educating kids on where their food comes from, so schools are making an effort to purchase more local foods. Shifting these buyers to increasing local food in their markets may lead to more access to local foods for consumers.
In the past two weeks, I have been learning about food hubs and how they can act as a facilitator in this process. Often farmers do not have access to these markets, or the infrastructure to carry it out (distribution). That is where food hubs can come in to connect the links, increasing the amount of local food for both farmers to sell, and consumers to buy.