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* Case studies of mainstream and local food supply chains reveal the variety of ways that food products move from farms to consumers.
* Farms in local food supply chains maintain a diverse portfolio of products and market outlets, which may help defray large fixed costs across multiple revenue streams.
* Local food supply chains are more likely to provide consumers with detailed information about where and by whom products were produced.
Consumers demanding locally produced food have often had only a fewoptions forbuying food produced by nearby farms, including roadside stands, farmers' markets, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) programs. These market outlets - typically distributing small volumes of specialized products - stand in stark contrast to large supermarkets and other mainstream outlets that distribute the vast majority of food consumed at home in the United States.
As demand has increased, however, local foods are reaching consumers through an expanding array of supply chain arrangements and marketing outlets. Local foods maybe sold in supermarkets; in small specialty stores or regional grocery chains; in restaurants, schools, or hospitals; or through a variety of direct-to-consumer outlets (see "Varied Interests Drive Growing Popularity of Local Foods" on page 10 of this issue).
Although many definitions and examples of local food supply chains exist, "local" generally refers to food sourced from nearby farms and producers. Proximitybetween consumers and producers is an essential component of any local food supply chain, yet the structure of these supply chains can take numerous forms.
ERS-sponsored researchers used case-study methods to provide an indepth picture of how food is produced and distributed in different types of supply chains, and to describe the structure, size, and performance of local food supply chains. Two types of local food supply chains were studied: direct-market (producer-to-consumer) food supply chains and intermediated food supply chains (where one or more "middlemen" handle a locally produced product before it reaches consumers). These supply chains were compared with mainstream food supply chains, where products are supplied through major grocery supply chains that do not attempt to make meaningful connections between consumers and producers.
No "One Size Fits All" for Local Foods
How local foods move from farms to consumers often depends on the type of product and geographic location. For example, supply...