08/15

CONTENTS

This bulletin is a companion to 

SARE’s Farm to Table: Building Local 

and Regional Food Systems Topic 

Room, an online collection of select, mostly SARE-based resources 

on local food systems. Information 

on the following topics is available 

at www.SARE.org/Local-Food:

Business Issues

Marketing and Markets

Distribution and

Aggregation

Food Safety

Food Processing

Strong Communities

Training Resources for

Practitioners

SARE’s Topic Rooms contain 

dozens of publications, videos and 

other educational materials on 

a wide range of topics, including 

cover crops, high tunnels, small 

ruminants and more. Visit 

www.SARE.org/Topic-Rooms.

Topic Room Series

www.SARE.org/Local-Food

Photos (clockwise) Santa Cruz Farm sells organic produce to local customers in Santa Fe, N.M. - Santa Cruz Farm Truly Living Well in Atlanta, Ga., serves its 

local community through ag education. - Abby Massey This Bellingham, Wash., school serves local food in its cafeteria. - Common Threads Farm

Building Local and Regional Food Systems

GROWING IN POPULARITY ON DINNER 

tables and in restaurants, schools and grocery 

stores around the nation, local food has become 

more than a buzzword. Local and regional food 

sales totaled an estimated $6.1 billion in 2012, 

and the movement is now one of the USDA’s 

funding priorities: In 2014 alone, the Secretary of 

Agriculture announced that hundreds of millions 

of dollars would go to economic development in 

rural areas, small businesses, value-added market 

growth, food hubs and more. 

From crop production to business management 

to marketing, farmers wear many hats. In addition to having the tools to grow crops, they need 

the tools to build a strong business that capitalizes 

on local sales opportunities. The Farm to Table: 

Building Local and Regional Food Systems topic 

room has tools for business planning, marketing, 

distribution and logistics issues. While the topic 

room includes resources on production of niche 

products, you can find general sustainable agriculture production resources at www.sare.org. 

Farm to Table: Building Local and Regional 

Food Systems includes SARE-funded resources 

produced by farmers, ranchers, educators and 

other community members who are working to 

improve their business management, make local 

food more accessible to consumers and develop 

innovative distribution systems.

Why Local and Regional Food Systems?

LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS

improve the vitality of both rural and urban communities. They keep more food dollars in local 

communities and offer new business opportunities 

that can bring young people back home. Producers and consumers build relationships, so that 

consumers know where their food comes from and 

how it was produced. Communities with a strong 

local food connection are more resilient to global 

food supply challenges and price fluctuations. 

Farm-to-school programs help kids make healthier 

eating decisions now and as they grow up.

While definitions of local and regional food 

systems vary in terms of specific geographic 

boundaries or distances, they are driven by common goals. These include strengthening the 

economic well being of communities, improving 

access to fresh healthy food, and creating market 

opportunities for beginning farmers and those who 

are unable to sell to wholesale markets due to their 

smaller size, limited resources or unusual products. 

Improving Business Capacity

www.SARE.org/local-food/business

STARTING A FARM PRESENTS MANY 

challenges. Some of the most daunting are production planning, risk and resource management, and 

access to land, capital and markets. Experienced 

Written by Abby Massey, SARE
2 www.sare.org/local-food

farmers also need access to capital and financing if 

they plan to expand their farm business or buy new 

equipment in pursuit of new opportunities. The 

Capital and Finance section contains resources 

from SARE grantees who have found ways to help 

lenders overcome their perception of farmers as 

a risky investment. Resources developed by other 

grantees offer guidance on how farmers and ranchers can obtain funding from alternative sources, 

rather than traditional banks. 

A variety of factors, including urban sprawl, exert 

upward pressure on land prices, making land access 

difficult. Business Issues also provides resources 

to help farmers and ranchers buy, rent or make 

other arrangements to access land, and make sure 

farmland stays in production. 

Accessing Markets and Marketing

www.SARE.org/local-food/marketing

MARKETING—FIGURING OUT THE MOST 

profitable way to sell a product—can be another 

serious challenge for busy farmers and ranchers. 

With increasing demand for local food, today’s 

producers are finding innovative ways to access 

new and existing markets.

A marketing plan includes figuring out which 

consumers will be interested in your product, how 

many there are and how to reach them—all of which 

are important components of a profitable business. 

Part of marketing is advertising the product and 

setting the brand apart from competitors. Many 

producers have done this by sharing their farm 

story, which provides a personal touch for consumUse SARE’s manual, Building a 

Sustainable Business, to

develop and write a business 

plan. Download for free at 

www.SARE.org/Business.

Richard Ward, of Blue Pearl 

Farms in McClellanville, S.C., 

delivers blueberries to GrowFood Carolina’s warehouse.

- Photo by Sara Clow

ers who are far removed from food production and 

satisfies their desire to know the origin of what they 

eat. 

Some farmers sell their products directly to the 

consumer at farmers’ markets, and via communitysupported agriculture (CSA) and pick-your-own 

programs. Others use an intermediary or middleman, such as cooperatives, food hubs, retailers, 

restaurants and schools, to help them distribute 

their produce locally. As a risk management strategy, farmers and ranchers often use multiple sales 

channels. 

Building a local food system is not easy. Consumers must demand locally sourced products, 

communities must work together to establish the 

infrastructure needed to support a local system, 

and farmers must listen to and work with distributors, consumers and each other. Community 

Outreach includes case studies and assessments 

conducted by community stakeholders who are 

working to create cohesive regional food systems. 

These assessments can serve as examples and, 

used alongside the Community Based Food System 

Assessment and Planning Guide, will help communities start planning their local food system.

Distribution and Aggregation

www.SARE.org/local-food/distribution

THERE ARE MANY WAYS FOR FARMERS TO

get their products to local consumers. Farmers choose their outlets depending on what they 

grow, their location, and time and labor available. 

Some distribution channels aggregate products 

CHARLESTON FOOD HUB BRINGS EFFICIENCY TO THE MARKET

In 2011, when Beaufort, S.C., farmer Urbie West was seeking new opportunities to get his produce to local consumers, a friend pointed 

him to GrowFood Carolina, a wholesaler that distributes local produce to businesses in nearby Charleston. GrowFood proved to be just 

what West needed. A fifth-generation farmer who raises produce on 45 acres and does most of his business through a large communitysupported agriculture (CSA) program, West earns up to 25 percent more than he used to earn through conventional distributors.

GrowFood Carolina, which received a 2010 SARE grant to conduct pre-launch market research and outreach to farmers, businesses and 

the community, is an example of a food hub. Farmers deliver produce to GrowFood’s downtown Charleston warehouse and GrowFood 

distributes it to local grocery stores and restaurants—mostly high-end businesses that will pay the premium farmers like West seek. 

The potential for this model is considerable: Only 10 percent of produce eaten by South Carolinians is grown in the state. The 40 

farmers currently in GrowFood’s network keep whatever their produce sells for, minus a 20 percent fee that covers GrowFood’s services. 

Along with distribution, GrowFood staff promote farmers’ stories and values, build an extensive customer base, and work tirelessly with 

individual farmers to ensure that together they can supply customers with what they need, when they need it. “Chefs are just so excited 

because really what we’re doing is building efficiencies in the market,” says GrowFood General Manger Sara Clow. 

Edward Hudson, of Rowesville, S.C., echoes that sentiment, from the farmer’s perspective. “We couldn’t do it without them,” he says. 

“There are only so many hours in the day; you can’t market everything the way you want to.” For more information, visit wwwSARE.org/

Project-Reports and search for CS10-078.
www.sare.org/local-food 3

from multiple farms, which provides the volume 

and consistency needed to reach larger markets. 

Typical distribution methods, all of which allow 

farmers to communicate their identity and production values to consumers, include:

Cooperatives—Businesses owned and run by a 

group of farmers who work together to market, aggregate and sell their products.

Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)—Community members pay a produce subscription fee 

before the season starts, allowing the farmer to 

share risk with the consumer.

Farmers’ Markets—Physical markets where farmers can rent a stall and sell their produce directly to 

the consumer.

Food Hubs—A centrally located business that 

coordinates the aggregation, storage, processing, 

distribution and marketing of local and regional 

food products. 

Institution/Retail/Farm-to-School—Farmers and 

ranchers can sell wholesale directly to non-commercial and commercial outlets such as schools, grocery 

stores, restaurants and hospitals. Producers often 

partner with a cooperative or food hub to provide 

the quantity and consistency that such institutions 

require.

Food Safety

www.SARE.org/local-food/food-safety 

FROM FARM TO TABLE, THERE ARE MANY

points at which food can become unsafe for 

consumption. That is why farmers follow strict 

handling practices, as do those in charge of food 

processing, transportation, storage and delivery. 

Just like business management and marketing, food 

safety benefits from having a strong plan in place so 

that everyone working on the farm, ranch or processing facility is familiar with required procedures. 

While food safety regulations continue to change, 

the Food Safety section has resources covering 

methods to keep produce safe, and approaches to 

help processors maintain a safe environment and 

work with a food safety inspector. 

Food Processing

www.SARE.org/local-food/processing

PRODUCERS CAN EARN EXTRA INCOME BY 

selling value-added products—crops and animals 

processed to increase their value. From jams to 

cheese, customers are willing to pay more for finished products that they are not accustomed to 

making themselves. Adding value can range from 

post-harvest handling (e.g., cleaning, processing 

and packaging) to developing a convenience or finished product (e.g., flour, yogurt or pickled goods) 

to meat processing and packaging. Farmers are 

turning oilseeds into palatable oils and ranchers are 

adding value to their sheep operations by processing and selling yarn. Producers who want to market 

their vegetables to a school will often have better 

luck if they sell them pre-cut and packaged, which 

requires processing methods and equipment.

Small-scale, local livestock processing has declined dramatically with intensification of the 

industry, but such processors are beginning to reappear as more producers become interested in selling 

locally. Food Processing has resources for people 

who want to build meat-processing facilities, includFarm-to-school programs can foster mutually beneficial links between farmers and communities. Programs include at least one of the following three practices: 

3 a school garden

3 locally produced, fresh and packaged goods served in the cafeteria

3 agricultural education 

According to the National Farm to School Network, 44 percent of U.S. schools have a farmto-school program. This number has skyrocketed over the last decade, driven by a desire to get 

more fresh fruits and vegetables into school lunches and improve kids’ eating habits. 

FARM TO SCHOOL

WWW.SARE.ORG/LOCAL-FOOD/FARM-TO-SCHOOL

Ellen Anderson works 

with two young gardeners at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School 

in Washington, D.C. 

- Photo by Lance Cheung 

Appalachian Sustainable 

Development’s Appalachian Harvest produce 

processing facility packs 

and ships about 20,000 

cases of produce per 

month. - Photo courtesy 

Appalachian Sustainable 

Development
ing on-farm and mobile facilities. Once established, 

food processing can add profit for a farmer and 

provide convenience for consumers.

Strong Communities

www.SARE.org/local-food/community

CONSUMERS, BUSINESS OWNERS AND OTHER 

stakeholders within communities are integral contributors to, and beneficiaries of, local and regional 

food systems. Purchasing locally produced and 

processed food builds stronger, healthier and more 

self-sufficient communities. It brings a new awareness to consumers about where their food comes 

from and who produces it. And when more consumers purchase locally, a greater share of food dollars 

stays in the community. In turn, food businesses see 

increased profits and are more equipped to create 

meaningful jobs, which can help revitalize communities that have seen job opportunities dwindle.

The recent attention on local food systems has 

opened the door for new governmental and institutional programs, which are developed based on the 

perceived importance of strong social relationships 

between farming and non-farming communities. 

4 www.sare.org/local-food

For example, communities that have limited access 

to fresh produce are benefiting from these policies: 

Around the nation, an increasing number of farmers’ markets participate in Fair Food Network’s 

Double Up Food Bucks program (www.doubleupfoodbucks.org), where federal nutrition assistance 

is doubled when purchasing local, fresh food. Initiatives for urban gardens are also popping up around 

the nation, expanding exposure of city populations 

to agriculture and providing access to hyperlocal 

and fresh food.

Strong Communities includes tools to address 

needs of various community players and includes 

urban garden planning guides and manuals for using food assistance programs at farmers’ markets.

Conclusion

LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS ARE 

an important complement to the national and 

global systems that provide much of our food but 

are often opaque to consumers and economically 

challenging for smaller-scale producers. Closerto-home food systems make it easier for the public 

to learn more about the origin of their food, and 

thus make informed choices. These choices often 

support producers with new businesses, as well as 

those who are exploring innovative changes to production, processing and distribution. Challenges to 

building a local food system are complex, but the 

Farm to Table: Building Local and Regional Food 

Systems topic room has up-to-date resources to 

help these stakeholders find the information they 

need to improve their sector of the food system.

Graduate student Arion Thiboumery originally assumed, as 

most did in agriculture, that there are simply too few small-scale 

meat processors to service producers. What he discovered was 

that the industry was out of sync and in need of better resources 

and coordination. Today, at least in the Midwest, says Thiboumery, 

there is adequate meat processing for small-scale producers. 

This is due, in large part, to better industry-wide coordination 

and information springing from Thiboumery’s SARE-funded graduate research at Iowa State University. Thiboumery found a need for 

networking, and formed the Small Meat Lockers Working Group. 

He then chose three lockers as case studies, working in their 

factories to truly understand the issues in play. He discovered, for 

example, an aging processor population and extreme boom-andbust seasonality that put processors out of business.

It became apparent to Thiboumery that stakeholders did not 

have the information they needed to run an efficient business, nor 

did they have sufficient networking opportunities with producers, consumers, processors, regulators and other stakeholders, 

which would help them learn new approaches, avoid pitfalls and 

promote their businesses. So Thiboumery filled the gap. He held 

workshops on alternative pricing structures, facilitating networking 

and building off-season awareness. And he wrote the Iowa Meat 

Processors’ Resource Guidebook (www.sare.org/iowa-meat), now 

used by Extension agents and universities across the Midwest; and 

the carnivore’s bible, The Whole Animal Buying Guide (www.sare.

org/animal-buying-guide).

Eventually, Thiboumery was able to leverage his initial SARE 

grant into $500,000 worth of assistance from other federal 

agencies, nonprofits and universities to engage stakeholders from 

across the nation. Together with Lauren Gwin of Oregon State University, he transformed the working group into the 500-member 

strong Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network. 

Learn more about the Network 

at www.nichemeatprocessing.org. 

- Photos by Samara Akers

GRAD STUDENT RESEARCH LEADS TO INDUSTRY CHANGE

High Tunnels

www.sare.org/high-tunnels

Extending the growing season with high tunnels gives 

consumers more access to 

local food and provides 

farmers with more income. 

Find in-depth production resources in the High 

Tunnels and Other Season 

Extension Techniques topic 

room.

- Photo by Abby Massey