Whether you are a meat processor or farmer, educator or commercial kitchen, having the best information at your disposal is key to working effectively within your food system. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)’s new topic brief, Click here for the PDF. provides an introduction to different facets of local and regional food systems, and directs you to resources that can help stakeholders build robust community food systems.
This topic brief is a companion to SARE’s Farm to Table: Building Local and Regional Food Systems Topic Room, an online collection of dozens of free books, bulletins, fact sheets, case studies, videos and more. Topics covered in the print brief and online include business planning, marketing, distribution and aggregation, farm to school, food processing and community development.
Take for example the Farm to Hospital Toolkit. When the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, Minn., saw an untapped partnership between farmers and local hospital kitchens, they used a SARE grant to develop this much-needed toolkit, which describes how both parties can succeed by working together. This toolkit, viewed by over 5,000 people, is one of the many proven resources available through Building Local and Regional Food Systems.
Local and regional food production provides new business opportunities, keeps food dollars in rural and urban areas, and makes fresher produce accessible to communities. Because of these benefits, demand for local food has quickly increased: Sales reached $11.7 billion in 2014, doubling 2012 sales, and has continued to grow.
Building Local and Regional Food Systems can be handed out at conferences and field days to farmers, ranchers, educators and community members. Download or order your free print copy today.