A poll was made by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) to find out how people in Western North Carolina buy food and why they choose the brands they do.
Anyone in Western North Carolina over the age of 18 can fill out the poll, which is part of a three-year project by ASAP’s Local Food Research Center. It doesn’t matter where or how they buy food. Visit surveymonkey.com/r/WNCFoodASAP to fill it out online, or call 828-236-1282 to do it over the phone.
It will be open until October 31, 2024, and should take about 8 to 12 minutes to finish. People who fill out the poll are asked to tell their families, friends, and coworkers about it.
“By filling out this survey, you are helping local farmers learn more about their customers and connect with them,” said Amy Marion, lead researcher and Associate Director of ASAP. “The problems with our food system are always changing.”
To make it better, everyone in the community needs to be involved. This study will help us learn more about what consumers value and the problems they face. It will also help farmers and food producers communicate better with their towns and customers.
The survey is part of a three-year study called “Connections in Direct Markets: Assessing the feedback loop between consumers’ values and farmers’ marketing strategies.” The study’s goal is to find ways for farmers and consumers in Western North Carolina to better communicate and work together.
During the research phase, more focused surveys, interviews with and case studies of farmers, and consumer focus groups will also be used. When the Local Food Research Center did its last consumer survey in 2014, the broad consumer survey was an update to that study. The present study project’s outcomes will be shared in 2025.
In 2011, ASAP set up the Local Food Research Center to look into the effects of localizing food systems on the economy, the environment, and society.
ASAP’s programs and services have been based on study and evaluation since the beginning. They have changed based on a strong feedback loop and what they see happening in the food system right now.
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping to fund part of this project with award number 2022-38640-37488.
This is done through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program with subaward number LS23-382. The USDA is a business and service provider that treats everyone the same.