Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gaining And Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Evidence From Csa Members And Farmers On Local Food Marketing Strategies, Emily H. Morgan, Michelle M. Severs, Karla L. Hanson, Jared Mcguirt, Florence Becot, Weiwei Wang, Jane Kolodinsky, Marilyn Sitaker, Stephanie B.Jilcott Pitts, Alice Ammerman, Rebecca A. Seguin

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., …

Incorporating Farmers’ Market Tours Into The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program: Best Practices And Lessons Learned, Annie Hardison-Moody, J. Dara Bloom, Lorelei Jones, Tony Benavente

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Research indicates that low-income consumers are less likely to shop at farmers’ markets and that these individuals are often those with the lowest intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. This project aimed to improve familiarity with farmers’ markets among low-income consumers through guided tours of farmers’ markets, implemented as part of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). EFNEP Program Assistants (PAs) in five counties in North Carolina received training and partnered with a local Cooperative Extension agent to deliver a farmers’ market tour at the mid-point of a nine-lesson series on healthy eating. Forty-eight participants completed the series, …

Growing A Sustainable Portland Metropolitan Foodshed, Sheila Martin, Kathryn Doherty-Chapman, Robert Wise, Steve Foust, Kirsten Greene, Ellie Fiore, Ellen Wyoming, Clark Seavert, Rebecca Sullivan, Beth Emshoff, Anita Yap, Elise Scolnik, Bob Short

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

Project Description and Objectives: Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provided funding for this study to examine key agricultural trends, identify producer needs and define strategies to strengthen the local food production system. The goals of the study are to: Define the Portland Metropolitan Foodshed; identify related agricultural and economic trends and develop a needs assessment based on input from producers and other stakeholders; assemble a regional toolkit of strategies to support evolution of a sustainable Portland Metropolitan Foodshed; work with the City of Damascus, Oregon to test the toolkit on a local level; Develop a research and educational …

Executive Summary, Cumberland County Foodshed Assessment, Report 1, Barbara Ives

Local Food Systems

Like everyone else in these troubled economic times, Mainers are looking for ways to create jobs that will remain relevant and vital in a global economy, that cannot be outsourced, and that will regenerate rather than exploit our natural resources.

A growing number of people believe that a food system rooted in local farms, fisheries, and food production and distribution enterprises can strengthen Maine’s economy and its communities’ health, thereby increasing revenue and decreasing an expense that is crippling government agencies and individuals alike – healthcare. Business people who want to make a living related to food, and public and …

Creating A Community Food System: The Intervale Center (Http://Www.Intervale.Org), Elizabeth A. Berman

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Bringing Local Foods To The Farm Bill, Chellie Pingree

Maine Policy Review

U.S. House Representative Chellie Pingree addresses the importance of revising the Federal Farm Bill to provide greater support to small, local farms if Maine and the nation are to have a sustainable food system..

An Abundant Food System, Russell Libby

Maine Policy Review

Russell Libby imagines what an abundant food system would look like for Maine and what it would take to get there. His recommendations include expanding the production and financing base, encouraging year-round production systems, building up mid-sized markets, and integrating farms into the ecosystem

By Land And By Sea, Amanda Beal

Maine Policy Review

This short article discusses the results of the By Land and By Sea project, in which Maine fishermen and farmers came together to discuss common concerns and to forge new solutions aimed at re-envisioning a unified food system.