Baton Rouge, La. - New Report from
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service Helps Communities Measure the Economic
Benefits of Local Food Investments With Real-World Examples and Measurement
Tactics. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has unveiled a new resource
created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Colorado State
University that will help communities and businesses evaluate the economic
benefits of investing in local food systems. The Secretary released details
about " The
Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions,
Assessments and Choices" in his keynote remarks at the 12th
Annual Good Food Festival and Conference in Chicago.
"Strong local and regional food systems are
helping to revitalize rural and urban communities across the country, and more
than 160,000 farmers and ranchers nationwide are tapping into growing consumer
demand for locally grown products. With USDA support, this sector is increasing
access to healthy foods for local residents and creating opportunity for small
businesses that store, process, market and distribute food," said Vilsack.
"Now community leaders have a toolkit that can help measure job creation
and other economic development indicators, which will help make the case for
continued investments."
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