I want to zoom in on the point you’ve made, Rob, about many young farmers currently selling directly to consumers. I wonder if this is a more profitable model for farmers to use because they retain the profits of their product (food), rather that markups going to large grocery chains?
Personally, with the most recent flooding and impact on food availability where I live (Kelowna), I can understand the resilience of this locally-focused model. There is a big contrast with how grocery stores fared in the face of supply chain disruptions due to the flooding, and how local supply chains were (not as) impacted. When there was no fresh produce in large chain retailers in my neighborhood, there was still fresh local produce to be found both through local growers, as well as through locally-focused distributors (like Farm Bound, Urban Harvest, and similar) that buy from local growers.
Being that I do not drive a car, having these services fill gaps in supply chains for people like me who don’t do “big” grocery runs to retailers was key to maintaining my food supply security in the flooding aftermath…and also points to ways to mitigate the impact of transportation barriers on food accessibility (i.e. driving a car to a grocery store). I like my car-free lifestyle, not only for environmental reasons. I just also want to be able to have access to good, nutritious food (and I don’t think I should have to drive a car to do that). I think distributors support the WHO builds food security, when they focus ‘local’.
