Comparing the Structure, Size, and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains
by Robert P King, Michael S. Hand, Gigi DiGiacomo, Kate Clancy, Miguel I. Gomez, Sherman D. Hardesty, Larry Lev, and Edward W McLaughlin
Economic Research Report No. (ERR-99) 81 pp, June 2010
A series of coordinated case studies compares the structure, size, and performance of local food supply chains with those of mainstream supply chains. Interviews and site visits with farms and businesses, supplemented with secondary data, describe how food moves from farms to consumers in 15 food supply chains. Key comparisons between supply chains include the degree of product differentiation, diversification of marketing outlets, and information conveyed to consumers about product origin. The cases highlight differences in prices and the distribution of revenues among supply chain participants, local retention of wages and proprietor income, transportation fuel use, and social capital creation.
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Keywords: Local foods, case studies, direct marketing, intermediated supply chains, farm-to-retail, farm-to-school, farmers markets, food miles
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Charts and graphs (in .png format) from this report are available in the .zip file listed below. The .zip file also contains a document (readme.txt) that lists the name and title of each chart or graph file.
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