Economic viability of local food marketing for restaurant operations and growers/producers in Iowa

The four objectives of this study are to 1) Determine the economic and non-economic costs and benefits to restaurants for purchasing locally grown foods; 2) investigate whether locally purchased food can be developed into a competitive advantage for restaurants through increased market share and variable pricing strategies; 3) identify economic implications for local growers/producers who wish to establish sustainable partnerships with local foodservice operations; and 4) educate Iowa restaurateurs and local growers/producers about the factors influencing the viability of buying and selling local foods.

The following activities have been completed during the second year of the study: mailing of the chef/manager survey and conducting the remaining Choice experiment to achieve Objective 2. As planned, the study also completed data collection to investigate economic implications for local growers/producers who wish to establish sustainable partnerships with local foodservice operations. Objective 4 relates to educating Iowa restaurateurs and local growers/producers about the factors influencing the viability of buying and selling local foods. Results obtained from analyzing data for objectives 1-3 will lead to the completion of this last objective.

Amit Sharma
The Pennsylvania State University
814.865.0126
asharma@psu.edu

Catherine Strohbehn, presenter
Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management, Iowa State University
515.294.3527
cstrohbe@iastate.edu

Rick Tafoya
M & M Divide RC&D, Carroll
712.792.4415
Rick.Tafoya@ia.usda.gov