Catching the "local" bug: a look at state agricultural marketing programs.

The United States has experienced a rapid increase in consumer interest in purchasing locally grown foods. This trend has led to many changes in the food system. For one, from 1994 to 2009, there was a 201% increase in the number of operating farmers’ markets, with most featuring local products (USDA, AMS, 2009). Additionally, in 2007, over 12,500 farms marketed products through a Community Supported Agriculture arrangement, where for a predetermined fee consumers receive a portion of the local farm’s total harvest (USDA, NASS, 2007). The emergence of local can even be witnessed in the marketing activities of snack-food giant Frito-Lay, who in 2009 made “Lay’s Local” their primary promotional campaign.