Population Density and Local Food Market Channels

Abstract We estimate the effect of population density on the use of local food market channels in the United States. Farms with greater market size increase direct sales to consumers, but the spatial scale of this effect operates at shorter distances than previously considered. Local farms do not use distributors to increase production for sales at shorter distances. Our results suggest that technical assistance to increase local food products sold by proximate retail outlets would be more effectively deployed assisting farms that undertake sales directly to retailers instead of marketing products through distributors.