Increasing public Participation in Alternative Food Networks
to Support Small and Mid- Sized Farms
Alternative food networks (AFNs), such as farmers markets, farm stores and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), are relationship-based marketing models that shorten the supply chain and aim to offer fair prices, transparency and environmental sustainability.
Small and mid-sized farms have higher survival rates when they market directly to consumers through these channels. However, AFNs have not reached beyond a small, niche market and their growth has plateaued in the past few decades. Our research goal is to identify how AFNs can serve a broader diversity of consumer needs and cultural preferences and to identify priorities and communication strategies that resonate with a broader customer base of New England consumers.
Read about our preliminary research and check out our first two Research Briefs (more coming soon!): What Do New Englanders Prioritize When Purchasing Food? and Where do New Englanders Buy Local Farm Food and How Often?
Funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture & Food Research Initiative (AFRI), Award #110394.