What is Local and for What Foods Does it Matter?

Consumer demand for local foods has been increasing dramatically over the past several years. Many food producers and marketers are raising their capacity to incorporate local food. Revenue from local Farmers’ Market and Community Supported Agriculture has become a greater source of income particularly for small and medium-sized farms. This study answers two important questions related to local food that have not been sufficiently addressed before: what is the greatest distance food can travel and still be accepted by consumers as local and is "local" equally important across food categories. Using survey data from two states in the USA, this research found that consumers’ accepted food travel distance may be much shorter than what is generally believed. In addition, there exists a great variation in the importance rating consumers attach to “being local” for different food categories and these differences are related to consumer characteristics.