Please share: Online consumer survey (MD, NY, VT)

      Posted On: June 1, 2018

The Farmers Market Federation of NY, partnering with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, NOFA VT, Community Involved in Sustainable Agriculture (CISA) in Massachusetts, the Maryland Farmers Market Association and University of Maryland Extension, has been awarded a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under sub-award number ENE18-150 to study the issue and learn what drives consumers to various venues for purchasing local foods.

The project will undertake a multi-state consumer survey to determine consumer preferences in shopping for local food, their attitudes towards farmers markets and general buying behavior for local food. A team from the Charles H Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management at Cornell University will analyze the surveys to determine trends, preferences, and needs of “today’s” local food shoppers. Using the survey results, publications will be prepared for journals and give Extension, market managers and farmers a better understanding of current consumer buying trends. Finally, the project team will use the information learned from these trends to prepare a toolkit and provide training to help farmers and market managers reboot their marketing and business strategies to be more reflective of the attributes consumers have identified as important when choosing a venue to shop for local food. 

The project will begin with a multi-state consumer survey. This survey will be available beginning June 18, 2018, and will remain open until October 1, 2018. Please email the Farmers Market Federation of NY at deggert@nyfarmersmarket.com  for a link to the online survey to share on social media and website and to share with community partners.