S ales of locally produced foods comprise a small but growing part of U.S. agricultural sales. Estimates vary but they indicate that local food sales total between $4 billion and $12 billion annually. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that local food sales totaled $6.1 billion in 2012, reflecting sales from nearly 164,000 farmers selling locally marketed foods. This represents 8% of U.S. farms and an estimated 1.5% of the value of total U.S. agricultural production. Local and regional food systems generally refer to agricultural production and marketing that occurs within a certain geographic proximity (between farmer and consumer) or that involves certain social or supply chain characteristics in producing food (such as small family farms, urban gardens, or farms using sustainable agriculture practices). A wide range of farm businesses may be considered to be engaged in local foods. These include direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers' markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported agriculture, community gardens, school gardens, food hubs and market aggregators, kitchen incubators, and mobile slaughter units. Other types of operations include on-farm sales/stores, internet marketing, food cooperatives and buying clubs, pick-your-own or "U-Pick" operations, roadside farm stands, community kitchens, small-scale food processing and decentralized root cellars, and some agritourism or other types of on-farm recreational activities. A number of existing federal programs benefiting all U.S. agricultural producers also provide support and assistance for local food systems. Examples include USDA's farmers' market programs, rural cooperative grants, and selected child nutrition programs, among myriad other grant and loan programs, as well as USDA's research and cooperative extension service. In addition, the Obama Administration has also implemented departmental initiatives intended to support local food systems, including the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" Initiative, among other USDA activities. The most recent reauthorization of the child nutrition programs was the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 ( P.L. 111-296 ). Programs administered by USDA may be grouped into several broad program categories: marketing and promotion; business assistance and agricultural research; rural and community development; nutrition and education; and farmland conservation. Annual funding for grants that support local food systems across five programs include
$26.6 million in competitive grants to be equally divided between two grant programs: (1) the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) supports projects for direct farmer-to-consumer marketing projects such as farmers' markets and other businesses; and (2) the Local Food Marketing Promotion Program (LFPP) supports projects that support intermediary supply chain activities for businesses that process, distribute, aggregate, and store locally- or regionally-produced food products; $4.8 million in Community Food Projects Competitive Grants to address basic food access for low-income families and individuals; $1 million in matching Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) grants to state departments of agriculture and state colleges and universities to support research addressing marketing and distribution of U.S. agricultural products; and $6 million in funding for different types of USDA Farm to School grants. Although additional funding in support of local and regional food systems is available through other programs, information is not available to determine the share of available total funding for U.S. farm programs used to support local and regional food systems only. For many of these programs, most indications are that the overall share of total funding used to support local food systems is very small. With few exceptions, these programs are not limited or targeted to local or regional food systems, but are generally available to provide support to all U.S. farms and ranchers. These initiatives are not stand-alone programs, are not connected to a specific office or agency, and do not have separate operating budgets. The 2014 farm bill ( P.L. Nearly $50 million is available for local and regional food enterprises. These initiatives are also intended to eliminate organizational barriers among existing USDA programs and promote enhanced collaboration among staff, leveraging existing USDA activities and programs.
Sales of locally produced foods comprise a small but growing part of U.S. agricultural sales. Estimates vary but indicate that local food sales total between $4 billion to $12 billion annually. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that local food sales totaled $6.1 billion in 2012, reflecting sales from nearly 164,000 farmers selling locally marketed foods. This represents 8% of U.S. farms, and an estimated 1.5% of the value of total U.S. agricultural production. Most (85%) of all local-food farms are smaller in size, with gross revenues under $75,000.
Local and regional food systems generally refer to agricultural production and marketing that occurs within a certain geographic proximity (between farmer and consumer) or that involves certain social or supply chain characteristics in producing food (such as small family farms, urban gardens, or farms using sustainable agriculture practices). A wide range of farm businesses may be considered to be engaged in local foods. These include direct-to-consumer marketing, farmers' markets, farm-to-school programs, community-supported agriculture, community gardens, school gardens, food hubs and market aggregators, kitchen incubators, and mobile slaughter units. Other types of operations include on-farm sales/stores, internet marketing, food cooperatives and buying clubs, pick-your-own or "U-Pick" operations, roadside farm stands, community kitchens, small-scale food processing and decentralized root cellars, and some agritourism or other types of on-farm recreational activities.
In recent years federal funding for local and regional food systems has increased. Funding for these and other USDA programs were authorized in 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79, Agricultural Act of 2014). Other programs were authorized in 2010 as part of most recent child nutrition reauthorization (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, P.L. 111-296). For 2014-2015, USDA has announced it was awarding nearly $40 million in grants to support local food systems across several programs. In addition, nearly $50 million in loans is available to support local and regional food enterprises. Other USDA programs often also support local and regional food systems; however, the share of total spending available to support local food system only (compared to all other types of farming systems) is not known. For many of these programs, most indications are that the share used to support local food systems is very small.
A number of existing federal programs benefiting all U.S. agricultural producers also provide support and assistance for local food systems. With few exceptions, these programs are not limited or targeted to local or regional food systems but are generally available to provide support to all U.S. farms and ranchers. These include farm support and grant programs administered by USDA, among other federal agencies. Programs administered by USDA may be grouped into several broad program categories: marketing and promotion; business assistance and agricultural research; rural and community development; nutrition and education; and farmland conservation. Examples include USDA's farmers' market programs, rural cooperative grants, and child nutrition programs, among myriad other grant and loan programs, as well as USDA's research and cooperative extension service.
In addition, the Obama Administration has also implemented departmental initiatives intended to support local food systems, including the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" Initiative, among other USDA activities. These initiatives are intended to eliminate organizational barriers between existing USDA programs and promote enhanced collaboration among staff, leveraging existing federal activities and programs. These are not stand-alone programs, are not connected to a specific office or agency, and do not have separate operating budgets.