Market Forces Creating Jobs through PubliC investment in loCal and regional Food systems

The report examines the growth 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 sustainability. It identifies barriers to scaling these systems, such as inadequate infrastructure and safety nets, and recommends increased federal funding and research to support small-scale farmers and low-income consumers.

• Local and regional food markets have experienced rapid growth in the United States, 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 marketing channels allow small-scale farmers to retain a higher percentage of retail revenue compared to the consolidated food system, potentially earning up to seven times more net revenue per unit.
• Public investment in farmers markets has a significant job-creation potential; providing modest funding for 100 to 500 markets annually that would otherwise fail could generate up to 13,500 jobs over five years.
• Local food systems can drive regional economic growth by retaining more revenue locally and creating spillover effects, such as increased patronage of businesses neighboring farmers markets.
• The U.S. consolidated food system contributes significantly to climate change and energy use, accounting for 16 percent of the country's energy budget in 2007; shifting consumption toward unprocessed local foods could reduce this footprint.
• Local food systems can mitigate 'food deserts' in low-income urban areas by providing access to fresh produce, particularly when supported by nutrition programs like SNAP or WIC and bonus-incentive vouchers.
• Scalability of local food systems is hindered by geographic and seasonal limitations, a lack of processing infrastructure (such as slaughterhouses), and agricultural safety nets that are designed for single-commodity crops rather than diversified small farms.
• Food hubs—facilities for dropping off, storing, and lightly processing local food—are identified as promising innovations to help local and regional food systems achieve greater scale.

APA

O’Hara, J. K. (2011). Market Forces Creating Jobs through PubliC investment in loCal and regional Food systems. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-report.pdf

Chicago

O’Hara, Jeffrey K. Market Forces Creating Jobs through PubliC investment in loCal and regional Food systems. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2011. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=O’Hara |first1=Jeffrey K. |title=Market Forces Creating Jobs through PubliC investment in loCal and regional Food systems |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=August 2011 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/market-forces-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ohara2011market, author = {O’Hara, Jeffrey K.}, 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-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }