Robyn Stewart
Modern America has strayed far from its rural roots, where each person needed to produce whatever raw materials and food they could in order to survive. Changes in technology and transportation have enabled us to have access to a huge variety of produce regardless of time of year. Americans have continued access to milk, meat, cheese, and dry goods just by walking into the grocery store, which is not the case in other areas of the world. Food production occurs everywhere across the country- you may know that Wisconsin is known for dairy, the Midwest is known for cattle and hog production, and Georgia is known for broiler (meat) chicken production. In addition to food availability, the US is one of only eight countries in the world that spends less than 10% of our income on food. While widespread food availability at low cost is essential for many Americans, there has been some concern over the last three decades over food production practices and the distance products have to travel for our consumption. These concerns have led to the growth of the farm-to-table movement and interest in local and regional food systems.
Farm to consumer sales grew from $551 million in 1997 to $1.2 billion in 2007, while the number of farmers markets increased from 1755 in 1994 to 8742 in 2018. The development of local and regional food systems became USDA funding priority in 2014. A local or regional food system, or farm-to-table operation may vary depending on the community it is active in. I may consider a local food product to come from Lincoln County, while another person might think local is within a 50-mile radius. Either way, the emphasis is on products that are grown close to home, in season, and sustainably produced.
When we examine consumer interest in local and regional food systems, there are a variety of reasons why these programs are thriving. Consumers like to know where their food comes from, how it was produced, and like to support their neighbors. Farmers enjoy building relationships with their consumers, being able to consistently supply food to their communities, and the ability to sustain their business by doing so. Communities enjoy local food systems because of their ability to create and sustain jobs, offer new business opportunities, and funnel food dollars back into the local economy.
Some different types of local food systems include the following. A cooperative is a business owned and run by a group of farmers who work together to market, aggregate, and sell their products. Similar to a cooperative, a Food Hub is a centrally located business that coordinates the aggregation, storage, marketing, and distribution of local food products. A Community-Supported Agriculture system (CSA) is where consumers pay a subscription fee to the farmer before the season starts- which allows the farmer to share production risk with the consumer and a Farmers Market is physical market where a producer can sell directly to the customer. Finally, some producers may sell directly to non-commercial and commercial outlets like schools and restaurants.
There are a variety of farmers in Lincoln County that are offering locally produced food products to consumers. These products include beef, pork, chicken, eggs, fruits and vegetables, and honey. If you are a producer interested in being listed on our website or if you are a consumer looking to be connected with a producer, please let us know at uge3181@uga.edu or 706-359-3233. (5.1.2020)
