Journal of Agriculture; Food Systems; and Community Development  

Becca B. R. Jablonski, Dawn Thilmany McFadden

First paragraph:This special issue examines the effectiveness of organizing and conducting formal impact assess­ments in measuring the economic impacts and opportunity costs associated with local food system policies, programming, and investment. It featu... see more

Darlene Wolnik, Jennifer Cheek, Marian Weaver

The need for an updated framework for all types of farmers markets and the varied levels of capacity to share the impacts of their work led to the develop­ment of the Farmers Market Metrics (Metrics) program at the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC), a nonpro... see more

Ryan Pesch, Brigid Tuck

Local food advocates promote direct-to-consumer food sales, arguing that such sales yield a variety of positive effects, including that smaller, direct-to-consumer producers have a greater economic impact compared to larger producers selling via wholesale... see more

Todd M. Schmit, Roberta M. Severson, Jesse Strzok, Jose Barros

Policymakers and economic development profes­sion­als are often confronted with fundamental questions about the efficacy of agriculture-based economic development initiatives in enhancing the economic vitality of communities relative to other forms of dev... see more

Dari Duval, Ashley K. Bickel, George B. Frisvold

This analysis applies principles and methods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Foods Toolkit to demonstrate the moderating influence of countervailing effects on the economic impacts of local food purchases through farm-to-school progra... see more

Libby Christensen, Becca B. R. Jablonski, Lacy Stephens, Anupama Joshi

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Mallory Lynn Rahe, Katrina Van Dis, Lauren Gwin

The local food sector continues to evolve as consu­mer preferences for economic, environmental, and social values create markets for a range of prod­ucts. Although measuring the economic impact of these complex systems can provide new insights, it remains... see more

Allison Bauman, Colette DePhelps, Dawn Thilmany McFadden

This case study features the Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition, an alliance of individuals, commu­nity organizations, institutions, agencies, non­profits, and businesses with a shared interest in developing the local food system in southeastern Washington... see more

Sibella Kraus

Like many fast-growing cities with a history as a major food production area, San Jose, California, has largely left its agricultural heritage behind. Much of its famed Valley of the Heart’s Delight, so-called because of the vista of springtime blos­soms ... see more

Libby Christensen, Learner Limbach

In 2011, the state of Washington created the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP), a collabo­rative and incentive-based approach to land-use management with the goal of protecting critical areas while maintaining and improving the viability of agriculture.... see more

Megan Phillips Goldenberg, Ken Meter

As co-authors of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Economics of Local Food Systems Toolkit featured in this special issue, we pose the question of whether standard input-output (I-O) modeling approaches are appropriate for use in community f... see more

Dave Shideler, Philip Watson

Given the growing interest in local food systems and the complexity of modeling the economic impacts of such systems, the Local Food Impact Calculator (LFIC) was created to provide a simple but methodologically sound tool to assist practi­tioners. In this... see more

Emily Reno

First paragraph:To enter the world of food systems means nothing and everything. Ask a stranger on the sidewalk what they think the food system is and they may respond by talking about farmers, com­munity gardens, or perhaps the restaurants that surround ... see more