Local Food Statistics: Direct Sales, Channels, And Farm Participation

Local Food Statistics: What The Numbers Say About Direct Sales, Markets, And Farm Scale

Local food is a big market with a very specific shape: most of the value does not come from one outlet, one farm type, or one region. The data shows a system split between direct-to-consumer sales, retail channels, and intermediary buyers, with metropolitan counties and a handful of regions carrying a large share of the total.

Table of Contents

• Fast facts
• How big the market is
• Where local food is sold
• Which outlets matter most
• Who participates in local food sales
• Regional patterns
• How the picture changed over time
• What the statistics suggest

Fast facts

• U.S. farms sold $9.0 billion of locally or regionally produced edible food through direct marketing channels in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Those direct food sales were up 3% from 2015 to 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• 147,307 farms reported local food sales in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• 299,238 producers were involved in direct sales of food in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Direct sales to institutions and intermediary markets totaled $4.1 billion in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Direct-to-consumer sales totaled $2.9 billion in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Direct sales to retailers totaled $1.9 billion in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

How big the market is

The clearest way to read the 2020 data is to separate the market into its three major channels. The total value of locally or regionally produced edible food sold through direct marketing channels was $9.0 billion in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That total was not concentrated in one sales path. Instead, the largest slice went to institutions and intermediary markets at $4.1 billion, followed by direct-to-consumer sales at $2.9 billion and retailer sales at $1.9 billion (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

That split matters because it shows local food is not only a farmers market story. It also runs through stores, restaurants, schools, distributors, and other intermediaries. The data even shows that 40,675 farms sold food to institutions and intermediary businesses in 2020, while 24,137 farms sold directly to retailers (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Those are substantial channel counts, not fringe activity.

At-a-glance channel comparison

Channel	2020 value	Farms involved	Share signal
Institutions and intermediary markets	$4.1 billion	40,675 farms	Largest channel by value (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey)
Direct-to-consumer	$2.9 billion	Part of 147,307 farms with local food sales	Major consumer-facing channel (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey)
Retailers	$1.9 billion	24,137 farms	Important store and restaurant channel (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey)

The scale is also visible in producer participation. Nearly 300,000 individuals were involved in making decisions for farms that sold food directly in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That suggests local food is not a tiny sideline for a few farm operators. It reaches a broad population of farm decision-makers across the country.

Where local food is sold

Direct-to-consumer sales are often the best-known part of local food, but the internal mix is worth looking at closely. In 2020, on-farm stores and farmers markets accounted for $1.7 billion, or 59%, of direct-to-consumer sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That is a strong signal that physical selling locations still dominate consumer-facing local food revenue.

The rest of the direct-to-consumer mix is more distributed. Farmers markets accounted for $514 million in 2020 direct-to-consumer sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). On-farm stores or stands accounted for $1.231 billion in 2020 direct-to-consumer sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Online markets accounted for $312 million, roadside stands away from the farm accounted for $252 million, community supported agriculture accounted for $225 million, and other direct-to-consumer outlets such as pick-your-own operations accounted for $415 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

Outlet mix inside direct-to-consumer sales

• On-farm stores or stands: $1.231 billion (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Farmers markets: $514 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Other direct-to-consumer outlets: $415 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Online markets: $312 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Roadside stands away from the farm: $252 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• Community supported agriculture: $225 million (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

The detailed channel mix shows that direct local food is diverse even before you reach broader markets. The same survey found that 77% of farms with direct sales sold directly to consumers in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That indicates consumer-facing sales were still the dominant direct-sales pattern for participating farms.

The product mix also shows a blend of fresh and value-added goods. Among farms selling directly to consumers, 42% sold fresh food products and 75% sold processed or value-added products in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Those shares suggest the category is not limited to one type of farm output. It spans produce, processed products, and other value-added offerings.

Which outlets matter most

A useful way to read the data is to compare outlet types by both value and participation. Farms selling to institutions and intermediary businesses were numerous at 40,675 in 2020, and 19,655 of those farms, or 48%, sold fresh commodities (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Another 22,533 farms, or 55%, sold processed or value-added commodities to that channel (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

Retail sales followed a similar logic. 24,137 farms sold directly to retailers in 2020, and 62% of sales to retailers such as grocery stores and restaurants were fresh foods (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That matters because retailer channels appear to bridge consumer demand and farm production in a way that keeps fresh food prominent.

Why the channel mix matters

• Direct-to-consumer channels are important for visibility and margin, but they are not the only major path.
• Institutions and intermediary businesses created the largest 2020 dollar total in the dataset.
• Retailers remained a significant channel for fresh foods, especially through grocery stores and restaurants.
• The value-added side is meaningful, since a majority of farms in the institutions/intermediary channel sold processed or value-added goods (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

This is one of the most important patterns in the full dataset. The local food market is not simply a farmers-market economy. It is a multi-channel sales network where consumer-facing, retail, and institutional channels all contribute major revenue.

Who participates in local food sales

The number of farms and producers involved matters because it shows how distributed local food production is. 147,307 farms reported local food sales in 2020, and 299,238 producers were involved in direct sales of food (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Those numbers point to a broad operational footprint.

The direct-sales population also has a strong rural-urban geography. 57% of farms marketing food directly were located in metropolitan counties in 2020, and those metropolitan-county farms accounted for 62% of all direct food sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That pairing is useful because it shows that metropolitan farms are not just common in the sample; they are also disproportionately important in sales value.

Another distribution detail is reach. About 78% of farms selling food directly sold all of their directly marketed food within a 100-mile radius in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). That statistic reinforces the local in local food. The market is rooted in short-distance selling behavior for most participating farms.

Participation profile in short form

• 147,307 farms reported local food sales in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• 299,238 producers were involved in direct sales of food in 2020 (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• 57% of farms marketing food directly were in metropolitan counties (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• 62% of all direct food sales came from metropolitan-county farms (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).
• About 78% of farms sold all directly marketed food within a 100-mile radius (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

The older ERS data adds another layer to the participation story. In the 2015 ERS study, 167,009 local food farms were counted in total, including 24,747 beginning farms and 142,262 experienced farms (USDA ERS EIB-225). Beginning farms represented 14.8% of local food farms, while experienced farms represented 85.2% (USDA ERS EIB-225). That suggests a category with a large base of established operators and a smaller but meaningful inflow of newer ones.

Regional patterns

The 2020 survey gives a simple regional clue with a sharp result. California recorded $1.4 billion in direct farm sales in 2020 and accounted for 16% of U.S. direct farm sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). The 11-state Northeast region recorded $2.5 billion in direct farm sales and accounted for 28% of U.S. direct farm sales (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

That comparison shows the Northeast outpaced California in total direct farm sales value in the 2020 dataset, even though California remained a major single-state market. At the same time, the data collected local food marketing information in all 50 states (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). So while the market is geographically widespread, the value is still highly concentrated in a few major regions.

The older ERS regional breakdown suggests a broader historical distribution of producers. In the 2015 ERS study, 29.1% of local food producers were in the Atlantic region, 25.5% were in the Midwest, and 21.2% were in the West (USDA ERS EIB-225). Those shares show that local food production has long been spread across several major U.S. regions rather than concentrated in just one.

Region and outlet differences

The ERS 2011 Amber Waves analysis gives context for why regional sales patterns can differ so much. In 2008, the West Coast produced 56% of the Nation’s vegetables, fruit and nuts, and other specialty crops in that analysis (USDA ERS Amber Waves 2011). In the same study, farms with both direct-to-consumer and intermediated local food sales on the West Coast were less than 8% of U.S. farms reporting local food sales but represented nearly 24% of the value of U.S. local food sales (USDA ERS Amber Waves 2011). That is a strong reminder that farm count and sales value do not move in lockstep.

How the picture changed over time

The time series in the dataset matters because it shows local food becoming larger while also shifting channels. The 2010 ERS analysis measured the local food market at $4.8 billion in 2008 when direct-to-consumer and intermediated sales were combined (USDA ERS Amber Waves 2011). That estimate was four times higher than direct-to-consumer sales alone (USDA ERS Amber Waves 2011). More than half of that 2008 local food market value, $2.7 billion, came from farms selling exclusively through intermediated channels (USDA ERS Amber Waves 2011).

By 2015, local food producers sold $8.7 billion of edible farm products, equal to 2.2% of agricultural sales in both 2012 and 2017 (USDA ERS EIB-225). That gives a useful middle point between the earlier 2008 estimate and the 2020 survey total of $9.0 billion through direct marketing channels (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). The numbers are not directly identical measures, but they do show a market that remained sizable across different USDA frames.

The outlet mix also changed in ways that matter. In 2015, intermediaries and institutions accounted for 39.1% of local food sales, direct-to-consumer channels for 34.5%, and retailers for 26.4% (USDA ERS EIB-225). In 2020, the direct marketing survey showed institutions and intermediary markets at $4.1 billion, direct-to-consumer at $2.9 billion, and retailers at $1.9 billion (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey). Those numbers are not the same measurement system, but they point in the same direction: intermediary and institutional channels are not secondary; they are central.

The growth pattern is visible in direct-to-consumer sales too. Direct-to-consumer farm sales reached $10.7 billion in 2020, up nearly $2.8 billion or 35% from 2019 (USDA ERS Chart of Note 2022). Sales at farmers markets increased 11% from 2019 to 2020, sales at restaurants and grocery stores increased 13%, sales at farm stores and CSAs increased 79%, and sales to regional distributors increased 73% (USDA ERS Chart of Note 2022). Those changes suggest local food was not just stable through 2020. It was actively reweighted across sales outlets.

What the statistics suggest

The most defensible reading of the data is straightforward. Local food is a large, multi-channel market with a substantial direct-sales base, a strong institutional and intermediary component, and a meaningful retail presence. It also appears to be geographically broad but economically concentrated, with metropolitan counties and the Northeast carrying outsized weight in the 2020 figures (USDA NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey).

The older ERS studies reinforce the same point from a different angle. Local food producers are not a niche group defined by one region, one farm size, or one sales model. The 2015 ERS data show many local food producers were under 50 acres, many had sales under $50,000, and a large share were older operators, with 37.5% age 65 or older (USDA ERS EIB-225). That profile suggests local food spans both small-scale and established operations.

Even the farm-to-school figures fit the wider pattern. In school year 2011-12, 4,322 school districts were serving at least some local foods or started to in 2012-13, and nearly two-thirds of participating districts purchased local foods through a distributor (USDA ERS Chart of Note 2015). A little over 40% obtained local foods directly from farmers and other producers, while around 40% sourced local foods from food processors and manufacturers (USDA ERS Chart of Note 2015). So the local food economy also extends into public institutions and layered procurement systems.

If you are looking for the headline from the numbers, it is this: local food is not a single market. It is a network of channels, farm types, and buyers that moves billions of dollars, reaches hundreds of thousands of producers, and keeps changing how it sells and where it sells it.