Market Forces Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems

The report examines the expansion of local and regional food systems in the U.S., highlighting their potential to create tens of thousands of jobs and improve public health and environmental outcomes. It identifies scalability challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure and misaligned USDA programs, and proposes policy interventions including increased funding for rural infrastructure, whole-farm revenue insurance, and enhanced research on regional supply and demand.

• Local and regional food markets in the United States have experienced significant growth, with the number of farmers markets increasing from 340 in 1970 to over 7,000 by 2011, and the establishment of more than 4,000 community-supported agriculture (CSA) systems.
• Direct consumer marketing channels for agricultural products reached a sales value of $1.2 billion in 2007, driven by consumer demand for fresh, sustainably produced food and a reaction against the consolidated food system.
• The consolidated U.S. food system is a significant driver of climate change, accounting for 16 percent of the country's total energy use.
• Expanding local and regional food systems has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs. Specifically, providing modest public funding for 100 to 500 struggling farmers markets annually could generate up to 13,500 jobs over five years.
• Increased local consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables could create thousands of jobs in the Midwest region, even if such production displaces the cultivation of soybeans and corn.
• Scalability of local food systems is hindered by geographic and seasonal constraints, inadequate processing infrastructure, and USDA programs that are better suited for large-scale commodity crop farmers than for small-scale local producers.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2011). Market Forces Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-exec-summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Market Forces Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems. 2011. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-exec-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Market Forces Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems |date=August 2011 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-exec-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2011market, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Market Forces Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2011}, month = aug, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-exec-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }