Farmers markets can play an important role in enhancing farm profitability, particularly those farms choosing to differentiate their products by appealing to consumer preferences for “locally grown†food or gain a larger share of the food dollar by marketing directly to consumers...

Farm to institution (FTI) programs represent alternative supply chains that aim to organize the activities of local producers with institutions that feed the local community. The current study demonstrates the value of structuration theory (Giddens in J Theory Soc Behav 13(1):75–80, <CitationRef CitationID="CR16">1983</CitationRef>; The...</citationref>

Demand for organic products continues to grow by about 20 percent per year, and certified or­ganic farmers continue to receive premium prices for most organic fresh produce. Currently, most conventional supermarket and wholesale buyers purchase produce from large-scale domestic or...

Farm to School (FTS) programs are increasingly popular as methods to teach students about food, nutrition, and agriculture by connecting students with the sources of the food that they eat. They may also provide opportunity for farmers seeking to diversify market channels. Food service buyers in...

Many mechanisms now exist forconsumers to express progressive values inpurchasing decisions. Although demand for suchgoods has grown, these goods remain the purviewof small niche markets. Focusing on the marketfor agricultural goods (and the choice betweenthe paradigms of industrialized...

Institutional food service operations have shown increasing interest in locally grown foods, and are providing a business opportunity for farmers and distributors. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the results and implications of a survey assessing institutional food service...