Demand for local foods creates new opportunity for agripreneurship.

Historic changes in the American food system, which are creating fresh opportunities for agripreneurs, include the following:

Consumers are better educated about the origins of their food.

Thanks to best-sellers such as The Omnivore's Dilemma (Pollan, 2006) and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Kingsolver, Hopp, & Kingsolver, 2007), many consumers know more about how food is produced. In particular, consumers are realizing that food produced at distant, industrial-sized farms is unsustainable - even that labeled organic. These customers seek local food, ideally grown by someone they know.

Locally-produced foods are a bargain.

Local growers, spared the transportation packaging, and advertising costs of corporate organic, are able to offer their products at prices that rival their large competitors (Rockwell, 2008). In rural communities, local food growers may be closer to the customer than the nearest supermarket; consumers even save gas by shopping local (Behnan, 2008). Thus, many financially stretched consumers are passing up organic food boutiques for local farmers' markets (Whitehead, 2008

Consumers increasingly distrust our centralized food system.

In the past year, consumers learned that their toothpaste, seafood - even their pet food - was tainted (Market to Market, 2002). Tainted beef was recalled almost twice per month (Garber, 2008). Knowledge that their foods are produced abroad, and with poor quality control, worries consumers, and demonstrates the vulnerability of a centralized food system to sabatoge (Begley, 2007). The discovery of E. coli in tomatoes has motivated customers to purchase more foods from local sources (McDaniel, 2008).

Soaring energy prices are reducing the viability of long-distance foods.

Food travels an average of 1,500 miles from field to fork (Pirog, Van Pelt, Enshayan, & Cook, June 2001). Even giant food retailers, looking to trim the transportation costs of their products, are sourcing local foods. By sourcing peaches from more states, Wal-Mart expects to save $1.4 million this year (Maestri, 2008). Good corporate citizenship can also fuel local food purchases: Chipotle Mexican Grill has committed each franchise to source at least one main ingredient within 200 miles of the store (Tsai, 2008).

The following data suggest strong, sustained demand for local foods:

• Wal-Mart announced plans to purchase $400 million worth of local foods annually (Maestri, 2008).
• Sales of local foods in the U.S. were $4 billion in 2002, and will grow to $7 billion in the next few years (Nichols, 2008).
• Annual unmet demand for local food in New York City is estimated at $866 million (New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, 2005)