Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T18:15:36.653Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Linking small fruit and vegetable farmers and institutional foodservice operations: marketing challenges and considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2018

Kathryn A. Boys  and
Angela M. Fraser
Kathryn A. Boys*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Angela M. Fraser
Affiliation:
Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Kathryn A. Boys, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The centralized nature of the United States food production, processing and distribution system makes it difficult for small fruit and vegetable farmers to serve as suppliers to institutional foodservice operations (IFOs), such as schools and hospitals. Due to age, economic and/or health status, it is often the clients of these foodservice operations who would benefit from increasing their consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, institutions are often limited in their resources and food preparation infrastructure, and lack market-based incentives to incorporate locally grown foods into their menus. This study identifies and suggests solutions to barriers that limit the ability of small fruit and vegetable farmers to serve as suppliers to IFOs. Data were collected through an extensive series of focus group meetings held with small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers in three South-Atlantic states. From these meetings, practical marketing considerations, such as payment terms, and processing, packaging and delivery requirements of supplying institutional foodservice buyers, were identified as obstacles to the efficient function of this market channel. Food safety challenges, including the related issues of obtaining (food) products liability insurance and food safety certifications, were also acknowledged among top concerns. A majority of the identified challenges were similar to those reported in other studies, but several were complicated by characteristics of farm production, limited food system infrastructure and marketing experiences in the study region. Several practical solutions to overcoming some of these marketing constraints are offered.

Keywords

Food safetyfood systemsfruitinstitutional foodserviceinsurancemarketingtraceabilityvegetables
Type
Themed Content: Intermediated Marketing Channels in Regional Food Systems
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 34 , Special Issue 3: Themed Content: Intermediated Marketing Channels in Regional Food Systems , June 2019 , pp. 226 - 238
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, DC and Salois, MJ (2010) Local verses organic: a turn in consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 25, 331–341.Google Scholar
American Hospital Association (2017) Fast facts on U.S. Hospitals. Available at https://www.aha.org/research/rc/stat-studies/fast-facts.shtml (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Barrowclough, M, Boys, KA and Carpio, C (2015) An evaluation of firm and contract characteristics valued by supply chain partners in specialty crop marketing channels, paper presented to the 2015 AAEA &WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, San Francisco California, 26–28 July. Available at https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea15/205768.html (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Bateman, J, Engel, T and Meinen, A (2014) Understanding Wisconsin producer and distributor perceptions to inform farm to school programs and policies. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 9, 48–63.Google Scholar
Biros, M (2014) Traceability requirements and best practices. Food Safety Tech. Available at https://foodsafetytech.com/feature_article/traceability-requirements-and-best-practices/ (Verified 29 January 2018).Google Scholar
Boyce, JK (2006) A future for small farms? Biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. In Boyce, JK, Cullenberg, S, Pattanaik, PK and Pollin, R (eds) Human Development in the Era of Globalization: Essays in Honor of Keith B. Griffin. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, pp. 83–104.Google Scholar
Boys, KA (2013) Food product liability insurance: implications for the marketing of specialty crops. Choices 28(4), 1–5.Google Scholar
Boys, KA and Fraser, AM (2017) Sourcing locally: benefits and challenges to school foodservice operations of sourcing produce from small-scale farms. ARE Working Paper No. 17-003. Available at https://ageconsearch.tind.io/search?ln=en&cc=1181Google Scholar
Boys, KA and Hughes, DW (2013) A regional economics-based research agenda for local food systems. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 3, 145–150.Google Scholar
Boys, KA, Ollinger, M and Geyer, LL (2015) The Food Safety Modernization Act: implications for U.S. small scale farms. American Journal of Law and Medicine 41, 395–405.Google Scholar
Buckley, J, Conner, DS, Matts, C and Hamm, MW (2013) Social relationships and farm-to-institution initiatives: complexity and scale in local food systems. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 8(4), 397–412.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control (2016) Long-term care providers and services users in the United States: data from the national study of long-term care providers, 2013–2014. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_03/sr03_038.pdf (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Community Food Service Coalition (CFSC) (2012) Food safety and liability insurance for small-scale and limited resource farmers. Available at http://alivebynature.com/pub/Food_Safety_and_Liability_Insurance-brochure.pdf (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Conner, D, King, B, Kolodinsky, J, Roche, E, Koliba, C and Trubek, A (2012) You can know your school and feed it too: Vermont farmers’ motivations and distribution practices in direct sales to school food services. Agriculture and Human Values 29, 321–332.Google Scholar
Dimitri, C., Hanson, JC and Oberholtzer, L (2012) Local foods in Maryland schools: a real possibility or a wishful dream? Journal of Food Distribution Research 43, 112–128.Google Scholar
Eldridge, E (2012) Plow to plate: the community hospital as a change agent. Sustainability: The Journal of Record 5(2), 79–84.Google Scholar
Feenstra, G, Allen, P, Hardesty, S, Ohmart, J and Perez, J (2011) Using a supply chain analysis to assess the sustainability of farm-to-institution programs. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 1(4), 69–85.Google Scholar
Hardesty, SD and Leff, P (2010) Determining marketing costs and returns in alternative marketing channels. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 25(1), 24–34.Google Scholar
Harris, D, Lott, M, Lakins, V, Bowden, B and Kimmons, J (2012) Farm to institution: creating access to healthy local and regional foods. Advances in Nutrition 3, 343–349.Google Scholar
Healthcare Without Harm (HWH) (2007) Seasonal foods: a new menu for public health. Healthcare without harm. Available at https://noharm-uscanada.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/896/Seasonal_Foods.pdf (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Healthcare Without Harm (HWH) (2017) Health and economic benefits from hospital investment in a sustainable food system. Available at https://noharm-uscanada.org/documents/health-and-economic-benefits-hospital-investment-sustainable-food-system (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar
Hoppe, RA (2014) Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2014 Edition, EIB-132. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43913/50364_eib-132.pdf?v=42103Google Scholar
Hoppe, RA and MacDonald, JM (2013) Updating the ERS Farm Typology, EIB-110. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43742/36483_eib110_summary.pdf?v=41368Google Scholar
Hughes, DW and Boys, KA (2015) What we know and don't know about the economic development benefits of local food systems. Choices 30, 1–6.Google Scholar
Izumi, BT, Alaimo, K and Hamm, MW (2010a) Farm-to-school programs: perspectives of school food service professionals. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior 42, 83–91.Google Scholar
Izumi, BT, Rostant, OS, Moss, MJ and Hamm, MW (2006) Results from the 2004 Michigan farm-to-school survey. Journal of School Health 76(5), 169–174.Google Scholar
Izumi, BT, Wright, DW and Hamm, MW (2010b) Market diversification and social benefits: motivations of farmers participating in farm to school programs. Journal of Rural Studies 26, 374–382.Google Scholar
Janssen, B (2014) Bridging the gap between farmers and food service directors: the social challenges in farm to school purchasing. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 5(1), 129–144.Google Scholar
Kirschenmann, F, Stevenson, GW, Buttel, F, Lyson, TA and Duffy, M (2008) Why worry about the agriculture of the middle. In Lyson, TA, Stevenson, GW and Welsh, R (eds). Food and the mid-Level Farm: Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 3–22.Google Scholar
Klein, K (2015) Values-based food procurement in hospitals: the role of health care group purchasing organizations. Agriculture and Human Values 32, 635–648.Google Scholar
Kohls, R and Uhl, J (2001) Marketing of Agricultural Products, 9th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
MacDonald, JM, Korb, P and Hoppe, RA (2013) Farm Size and the Organization of U.S. Crop Farming, ERR-152. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/45108/39359_err152.pdfGoogle Scholar
Martinez, S, Hand, M, Da Pra, M, Pollack, S, Ralston, K, Smith, T, Vogel, S, Clark, S, Lohr, L, Low, S and Newmand, C (2010) Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts and Issues, ERR 97. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/46393/7054_err97_1_.pdf?v=42265Google Scholar
Matts, C, Conner, D, Fisher, C, Tyler, S and Hamm, M (2016) Farmer perspectives of farm to institution in Michigan: 2012 survey results of vegetable farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 31(1), 60–71.Google Scholar
Montague, J, Wilcox, J and Harmon, AH (2014) Sustainable hospital food service: restoring health and prosperity to rural Montana. Austin Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences 2(2), 1014.Google Scholar
Morgan, DL and Krueger, R (1997) The Focus Group Kit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
National Farm to School Network (NFSN) (2017) The benefits of Farm to School. Available at http://www.farmtoschool.org/Resources/BenefitsFactSheet.pdf (Verified June 5, 2017).Google Scholar
National Restaurant Association (NRA) (2017) 2017 Restaurant Industry Outlook. Available at http://www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDFs/News-Research/2017_Restaurant_outlook_summary-FINAL.pdf (Verified June 5, 2017).Google Scholar
Park, T, Mishra, AK and Wozniak, SJ (2014) Do farm operators benefit from direct to consumer marketing strategies? Agricultural Economics 24, 213–224.Google Scholar
Pullman, M and Wikoff, R (2017) Institutional sustainable purchasing priorities: stakeholder perceptions vs environmental reality. International Journal of Operations & Production Management 37, 162–181.Google Scholar
Rickman, JC, Barrett, DM and Bruhn, CM (2007a) Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Part 1. Vitamins C and B and phenolic compounds. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 87, 930–944.Google Scholar
Rickman, JC, Barrett, DM and Bruhn, CM (2007b) Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables II. Vitamin A and carotenoids, vitamin E, minerals and fiber. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 87, 185–1196.Google Scholar
Sachs, E and Feenstra, G (2015) Emerging local food purchasing initiatives in Northern California Hospitals. Executive Summary. UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, UC Davis, Available at http://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/sarep/publications/food-and-society/farmtohospitalinitiativesweb.pdf (Verified June 5, 2017).Google Scholar
Saldaña, J (2009) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd.Google Scholar
Schmit, TM, Jablonski, BBR and Mansury, Y (2016) Assessing the economic impacts of local food system producers by scale: a case study from New York. Economic Development Quarterly 30, 316–328.Google Scholar
Smith, BJ, Kaiser, HM and Gomez, MI (2013) Identifying factors influencing a hospital's decision to adopt a farm-to-hospital program. Agricultural and Resource Economics 1, 1–23.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2014) 2012 census of agriculture. United States, Summary and State Data, Volume 1––Geographic Area Series, Part 51, Table 2. Available at https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/usv1.pdfGoogle Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) (2012) State Fact Sheets. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/state-fact-sheets// (Verified 29 January 2018).Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2016) Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 (NCES 2016-014), Chapter 2. Summary available at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84 (Verified June 5, 2017).Google Scholar
Vogt, RA and Kaiser, LL (2008) Still a time to act: a review of institutional marketing of regionally-grown food. Agriculture and Human Values 25(2), 241–255.Google Scholar
Wagner, P and Rabuy, B (2017) Mass incarceration: the whole pie 2017. Available at https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2017.html (Verified 5 June 2017).Google Scholar