Farm stands and farmers markets remain really important for many local farmers, but U.S. consumers barely buy any food directly from farms. That鈥檚 why local farmers are trying to crack in to the big institutional markets such as grocery stores, work cafeterias, schools and hospitals.
Local food sales numbers are hard to come by, but direct-to-consumer sales accounted for just , the year with data that U.S. Department of Agriculture reports usually cite. The number is growing, but food sales through what is called 鈥渋ntermediated markets鈥� 鈥� farmers鈥� sales to local grocers, restaurants and other institutions 鈥� account for the vast majority of food buying.
鈥淪till 80-90 percent of all food consumed is through the intermediated markets,鈥� said Craig Chase of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.
Farmers are slowly tapping in to the big markets. Farmer sales to intermediated markets accounted for about half of the nearly $5 billion in local food sales in 2011, according to USDA numbers. () But many farmers are hoping more access to institutions and big markets will lead to bottom-line growth. And with the , they鈥檒l have to expand beyond local weekend markets to create viable, sustainable businesses.
Farm-to-school programs are big buyers of local food and often serve as a pathway to creating a viable local food economy. Almost 40,000 schools across the country have some sort of a farm to school program, according to the , and schools spent over $300 million on local food in the 2011-2012 school year.
Schools are local and they feed a lot of people every day. That makes them ripe proving grounds for local farmers, says Linda Jo Doctor of the , which supports research and projects dealing with local food.
鈥淭he interest in farm to school has actually led the way for the transformation for community food systems,鈥� Doctor said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been an invitation for other institutions to come on board.鈥�
Many hospitals have been trying to source more locally, both in their cafeterias and in patient meals. Advocacy group Healthcare Without Harm says 495 hospitals nationwide to buy more food they say is local, nutritious and from sustainable sources. Local food is a staple on many college campuses and many Head Start programs and other preschools integrate local food into the meals they serve.
"The interest in farm to school has actually led the way for the transformation for community food systems."
As more and more institutions decide to source locally, they鈥檙e using lessons learned from farm-to- school programs, according to Colleen Matts who works with local food systems at Michigan State University.
鈥淲e have a lot of experience and a lot of models to drawn at this point to help these other institutions get to their goals faster than schools were able to,鈥� Matts said. 鈥淏ecause (schools) were that first frontier.鈥�
It鈥檚 hard, though, to get local food to many of these institutions, whether hospital cafeterias or preschool programs. Individual small farmers can鈥檛 necessarily provide the bulk orders that food service directors need. And many big institutions don鈥檛 have a full service kitchen 鈥� they need pre-cut apple slices or baby carrots.
Many big buyers work within slight margins and can鈥檛 afford to pay extra for local food.
鈥淥ne of the issues is profitability,鈥� Iowa State鈥檚 Craig Chase said. 鈥淐an they pay the price that is needed to pay to make it profitable for the farmer?鈥�
Churches, too, are a new market for local farmers. The World Harvest Ministries church in Kansas City鈥檚 Ivanhoe neighborhood recently set-up a small grocery store in its basement. It carries many local products thanks to a partnership with Good Natured Family Farms, a group of about 150 small farms within 200 miles of Kansas City.
The small store serves dual purposes: it provides fresh, healthy food in an area lacking grocery stores and it provides a new customer base for local farmers.
鈥淭he idea is, rather than trying to bus people to farmers鈥� markets we decided to take food to where the neighborhoods are,鈥� said Diana Endicott, who runs Good Natured Family Farms. 鈥淲e found churches are the best base that we have because the community already gathers there.鈥�
For Terry Glenn, pastor of World Harvest Ministries, the small store could help both his parishioners and the neighborhood.
鈥淲ith so much diabetes and high blood pressure plagued in our families, they know something is wrong but they never connect it to the table,鈥� Glenn said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 connect it to what they鈥檙e eating.鈥�
The store, which he calls the Harvest Learning Center Market, is supported with grant-funding. Many of Glenn鈥檚 customers use food stamp benefits, and thanks to a grant, the store matches some of the money customers using food stamps spend on local food. Glenn says he鈥檚 often able to connect with customers on a deeper level than your average neighborhood grocer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing God wants for all of us,鈥� Glenn said, 鈥渢o be in good health and prosper as our soul prospers.鈥�
