Farm to Restaurant: Exploring the Availability of Locally Grown Food and Obstacles to Its Use in Seacoast New Hampshire Restaurants
Abstract
The United States is among the top agricultural producers in the world in total revenue, behind onlyChina and India. As of recently there has been an important trend toward buying and using locally grown food in New England. This project focuses on local food use in restaurants in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. The research takes into account theperspectives of all members of the marketing chain and seeks to identify what information these individuals are missing about the availability of local food products as well as the purchasing habits of restaurants. To carry out our research my research partner and I conducted an interview-based survey of local restaurants. The results showed a wide range of behavior across restaurants in regards to purchasing decisions. We hope our findings will facilitate better communication between all members of the marketing chain and make local food more available to consumers at restaurants.