Chronicle Online e-News
Promoting local foods is paying off, CU research shows
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan08/eco.impa
ct.localfood.kd.html
Jan. 22, 2008
By Kara Dunn
cunews@cornell.edu
In northern New York, more food is going directly from farm to
consumer, cutting out the middleman and saving thousands of miles in
food shipments.
But, "there is tremendous room to grow the local share of the total
food bill for New York's North Country region," says Duncan Hilchey
of Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI).
Hilchey, a senior extension associate, studies agriculture and food
system indicators to set a comparative baseline for the North Country
Regional Foods Initiative to use to evaluate anticipated growth of
the local foods sector in northern New York.
"In 2002, the direct-to-consumer share of the total regional food
expenditure of $936 million was almost $3.4 million -- that is only
one-third of 1 percent of the total," Hilchey says.
His analysis of the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of
Agriculture shows that:
* in 2002, 11 percent of northern New York farms sold directly to
consumers, up from almost 7 percent in 1992, increasing
direct-to-consumer farm sales to more than $3 million, up from $1.3
million;
* from 1997 to 2002, the number of fruit and vegetable farms
increased almost 6 percent in the North Country.
Furthermore, farms and farm stands participating in grant-funded
promotions through one regional program, Adirondack Harvest, report
19 percent more customers on average and an average increase in gross
sales of 16 percent compared with past years.
Farmers' markets reported similar numbers: 21 percent more customers,
17 percent more gross sales. And stores taking advantage of promoting
local products saw a 10 percent increase in customers with 11 percent
more in gross sales in 2007, says Kathryn Lang, coordinator of the
North Country Regional Foods Initiative.
The numbers reflect a growing trend of buying locally and "going green."
"North Country agricultural producers also have growing opportunities
for increasing direct wholesaling, such as selling to restaurants,
resorts and colleges," Hilchey notes. "It is great to see innovative
programs helping to make the links between the producers and buyers."
Chambers of Commerce and regional agencies have embraced the local
products promotion effort that drove visitors to regional farms in
2007 for spring open houses at greenhouses and fall harvest season
tours.
"As our society learns about the benefits of eating locally, they
want to enjoy the 'local food experiences' of their destinations as
well," says Carol Joannette, the Lake Placid/Essex County Convention
and Visitors Bureau vice president. "By educating restaurants on the
benefits of serving locally grown foods and by promoting the farmers'
markets, we provide outlets for our visitors to experience the
flavors of the Adirondacks, thereby enhancing their visit."
The North Country Regional Foods Initiative project team includes
representatives of each Cornell Cooperative Extension office in
northern New York and CaRDI. The team has a $60,000 federal Economic
Development Administration University Center grant from the U.S.
Department of Commerce.
Kara Dunn is a freelance writer in Mannsville, N.Y.
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