“There’s No Place Like Home”: Inquiry into Preferences for Local Foods

Abstract

Using a nationally representative survey of U.S. consumers, we analyze demographics, food shopping behaviors, and stated preferences and use logistic regressions to further explore local food preferences and perceptions of farmers’ markets. When asked the definition of “local,” the largest percentage of respondents (28%) selected that local meant “in their county of residence.” Respondents assigned various qualities to farmers’ markets, including freshness, healthiness, tastiness, and locally produced. Having higher income, the presence of a child in the household, reading packaging information, shopping for local food at the supermarket, and closer definitions of local all increased the probability of shopping at the farmers’ market.