Connecting local foods with local consumers

Buying local keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. Local food can also help the environment by reducing your meal's "food miles" or the distance it travels to reach your plate and the energy consumed in getting there. American Farmland Trust is working with communities to re-connect their local farms with local consumers.

Burlington County, New Jersey

New Jersey’s farms are increasingly threatened by competing residential and commercial development. Statewide, the percentage of agricultural land lost annually to development is greater than any other state in the country. Communities are realizing they need tools beyond traditional farmland protection and must invest in strategies that keep farms viable. Funding from the Dodge Foundation is supporting American Farmland Trust's work to advance the local food and farming system of Burlington County, New Jersey. AFT is working with targeted municipalities to connect farm products with local consumers and identify steps to increase access to local foods to all residents. By focusing on towns ranging from rural to urban, AFT will develop best practices to replicate in diverse communities throughout the Garden state.

San Francisco, California

American Farmland Trust, with funding from the San Francisco Foundation, is exploring the feasibility of a regional food system in the San Francisco bay area that fosters a greater reliance on sustainably produced local food. AFT's feasibility study will identify potential supply and demand for local food and outline strategic options for increasing both local food production and consumption.