Abstract

As the movement toward more localized food systems grows, place-based research is needed to understand the promises and challenges for those involved in rebuilding healthy local food systems. The farmers (producers) growing and selling local food provide key insights into how public policies and local conditions impact their ability to feed communities. This study pairs a survey of producers with in-depth interviews of farmers in Nebraska to identify both supply and demand issues with producing local food. The primary findings suggest that access to resources such as land, capital, and labor impact producers’ ability to grow. Producers also struggle with finding the proper market for their product. Some farmers are too large for one local market, while others struggle to scale up enough to meet demands of potential buyers. By examining local conditions more closely we can to begin understand how public policy and other factors help or hinder producers as they work to feed our communities.