Economic Benefits of a Food Policy Council

Recommended by Bonita Hutcheson

Project Coordinator
FarmFolk/CityFolk Society
1937 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver B.C. V6J 1J2
Phone: (604)730-0450
Email: office@ffcf.bc.ca
Website

ECONOMIC
Regional economic vitality. If residents of Black Hawk County spent
$10 (of their total grocery dollars) every week on locally grown
food, that would amount to $2 million every month invested in local
people, local farms, and independent local businesses. Bingo!

Center for Energy & Environmental Education
Project Goal:
Working with institutional food buyers (hospitals, nursing homes,
colleges, restaurants, and groceries) to explore ways they could
purchase a greater portion of their food from local/regional farmers
and food processors in Northeast Iowa.

Rationale:
Iowa spent over $8 billion on food in 2000. Residents of
Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro area alone spend nearly $300 million on
food groceries and eating out every year. Most of these
food dollars leave our county and the state. It is possible to
significantly reduce this leak of financial capital. There are many
ways of investing our food dollars locally and institutional food
buyers can leverage their buying power to support fresh, locally
raised products in season and encourage the development of a more
diverse agriculture around. We are working to strengthen the local
food economy of our region.
Check here for more: Dollars Spent on Food and Eating Out (2001)

Economic Benefits of a Local Food System

• Buying direct from local farmers generates 44% more revenue for the
  local economy than purchasing food at supermarkets.
• There are now over 2,800 registered farmers' markets in the US, at
  which nearly 20,000 farmers sell their produce.
• In Massachusetts, a $470 share in a Community Supported Agriculture
  (CSA) project was shown to provide the equivalent of $700 worth of
  produce from a supermarket.
• In direct marketing initiatives, farmers take home 80-90% of each
  dollar the consumer spends, as opposed to an average of 9% when
  consumers buy from supermarkets.
  

The Global Food Index: Food for Thought

• Percentage of US food dollar going to input suppliers, middlemen and
  marketers: 91
• Percentage of US food dollar going to typical farmer: 9
  Percentage of food dollar going to CSA or farmers' market
  farmer: 80
• Percentage change in revenue generated for local economy from
  buying local food: +44

Strengthening your Local Economy
Buying local food keeps your dollars circulating in your community.
Getting to know the farmers who grow your food builds relationships
based on understanding and trust, the foundation of strong
communities.