Tuesdays at APA: Why Local Food Matters

Get an overview of what we know about changing consumer demand
and some of the drivers behind these changes in demand. Learn how
the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Local Food Research and
Development Division is trying to help farmers and food marketers
take advantage of the recent surge in local food demand through
grant assistance, primary data collection, applied research on
emerging business models, technical assistance, and market
facility design.


Debra Tropp of the USDA outlines a recent effort to capture and
quantify economic impacts of local food system investments. She
discusses the rollout of a toolkit that can be used by planners
and other development practitioners in responding to oft-repeated
questions about the expected job creation and economic activity
resulting from public investments in local food systems
infrastructure.