The Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Perceptions of Local Food Market Channels

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on food systems. Despite disrupting conventional markets—such as grocery stores—farmers that focused on short supply chains found new market opportunities. As consumers increasingly became concerned with the safety of in-person shopping, some turned to purchasing directly from farmers and markets that carried products marketed as local, organic, and/or sustainable. With these changes in mind, I ask how consumer perceptions of local food systems (LFSs) changed in the two years after COVID-19. If consumers are more aware of local markets, farmers might reorient production to focus on local supply chains and sustainable production methods. To evaluate consumer perceptions, I use survey responses from residents in five communities in the US South in 2019 and 2022. Using a treatment effects model with propensity score matching, I show that residents became more aware of most local market channels, such as specialty retail stores and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Some residents were also more likely to have a positive perception of markets that provide fresh vegetables to low-income residents. Finally, residents wanted more investment into markets that make fresh, local products more available, such as community-owned groceries and CSA.