Carissa Taylor, Rimjhim Aggarwal

In: UA Magazine no. 24 - From Seed to Table: Developing Urban Agriculture Value Chains, pp 46-48

Interest in local food is increasing across the US, motivated by concerns about the environmental costs associated with transportation, community food security, and the perception that locally produced food is fresher, healthier and more nutritious. Although the definition of ‘local’ varies -with some defining it in terms of distance from home and others in terms of being produced within the state or metropolitan boundary- the growing demand for local food presents significant opportunities to revitalise urban agriculture and restructure local food value chains. This article presents results of a survey about the perceptions of stakeholders on motivations and barriers to the development of a local food system in Phoenix, Arizona.