Local Food Systems: Consumer Attitudes and Barriers to Buying Local

Placer and Nevada counties, located in the foothills of Northern California, have a vibrant local food system supported by small-scale farms and ranches. However, less than two percent of the population buys local produce regularly. From 2012 to 2015, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) conducted an outreach program to raise awareness of local produce and increase sales of local fruits and vegetables. We conducted tastings, cooking classes, and other community outreach events, providing nutrition and produce information and samples of fresh, local produce. We also conducted consumer and farmer surveys. This paper focuses on the survey component of the project; the assessment of consumer attitudes toward locally produced food and constraints to buying local. These surveys provide insights into marketing and motivations for purchasing local food. We collected price data from local outlets where produce is sold, as price was an oft-cited reason for not buying local produce. We also collected sales data from farmers’ market vendors to gauge the impact of outreach and tastings on local produce sales. Consumer survey results show the value of tasting and providing recipes to help introduce new produce or new ways to use familiar produce. Both consumer and farmer surveys show the impact of outreach and tastings on farmers’ market traffic, produce sales, and consumption. Survey results clearly delineate a community definition of what is local; characterize the purchasing habits of farmers’ market shoppers in a variety of locations; and indicate critical barriers to increasing consumption of locally grown produce.