Barriers and Facilitators to Local Food Market Development: A Contingency Perspective

Many government and community supported programs and initiatives have been developed recently in response to social, economic, political, and environmental conditions presumed to be caused by the globalized food system. These programs are focused on building local food economies as a means to rectify these conditions and to enhance local communities. While efforts to strengthen local food systems (LFS) are increasing in number, little is known about how well these initiatives are working and what factors contribute to or limit program impact. In this paper, we report on a comparative assessment of barriers and facilitators to the development of local food markets conducted from the perspective of 11 local food coordinators in the eastern region of North Carolina. Interviews with Cooperative Extension agents were analyzed based upon the contingency perspective to assess whether the development and success of local food markets depend on local conditions. Our findings suggest that local food markets are more or less successful given certain local conditions, but that local food markets are not being developed based upon assessment and analysis of local context. Further, institutional factors (e.g., food safety policy and institutional buyer attitudes) were found to have even more impact on local food market development than local conditions (e.g., urban proximity). The information presented in this report is intended to inform policymakers, planners, and administrators regarding environmental factors that should be considered when making decisions and plans to increase viability of LFS development.