**2. Demographics, motivations, and impacts of consumers participating in AFNs**

People started to realize that local food system can substantially benefit a variety of local actors. For instance, it promotes the development of the local economy, reduces the distance of transportation, and facilitates the sustainable development [41]. Abate [1] believes that the local food economy can connect and involve the different local actors in the local community, revitalize businesses that may be hardly surviving and provide them with business opportunities, and also promote the sense of identity which is similar to the viewpoint of Oberholtzer and Grow [42]. It can also create job opportunities, increase the local income, and diversify the local economy. Feenstra et al. [43] argued that the farmers' market provided the best opportunity for farmers to develop their businesses, improved their skills on dealing with customer relations and other marketing practices, and also encouraged them to add values to their products or services which also benefit their customers. Hughes and Boys [44] also discussed about the economic impacts of local food. They believe that the local food system will bring multiple benefits to different actors in the system, such as vendors, local labors, and farmers' markets. Furthermore, the localization can also contribute to the higher quality of life,

**353**

*Exploring Constituents of Short Food Supply Chains DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93401*

interest in some specific types of food.

because he believed that the regional growth has been a new economic development pattern in the modern world. Meanwhile, the localization of food as a marketing

The motivators of consumers to attend the farmers' market is also of interest for researchers to study. From theoretical perspective, Conner et al. [45] believed that local food basically creates three values for consumers. First is the shortened distance of travel from the production place to the market. Second is the higher quality of food which mainly indicates the freshness. Third is the social interactions that refer to face to face communication. Also, the perceptions of quality are different in the various regions, ranging from environmental sustainability and animal welfare to rural tradition, local knowledge, and culture [13]. A number of studies have shown the consumers' interest in foods with local attributes. Generally, researches constantly showed the strong willingness of consumers to buy in farmers' markets, and those shoppers have similar demographic characteristics, but their motivating factors can be slightly different between different regions. Based on the research in different regions of the US, Baker et al. [5] suggested that the most important reasons of consumers using farmers' markets are accessing fresh local foods and supporting local agriculture. But consumers in Manitoba, Canada, have demonstrated different motivations, based on the research by Food Matters Manitoba [46]; the major driver of attending farmers' markets of consumers in Manitoba was to support the local economy, and the second most important is to help local farmers. The interest in the food quality was only placed at third. However, based on the research for consumers across the whole country, they perceive the top motivator for buying local food products was freshness of food, and supporting local agriculture business was reported as the second most important factor [46]. Therefore, Manitoban consumers have more concern on the community development than other places in Canada. Byker et al. [24] argues that based on the studies in different areas, some motivating factors to participate in AFNs are consistent, including freshness and high quality of food, food safety and security, pesticide-free, support local agriculture, and social interactions. Some other factors can vary from different regions or different consumers; for instance, convenience is an important factor for some consumers but not for all. The price of a product was also concerned by a part of consumers. Conner et al. [45] found similar phenomenon; some consumers perceived local foods as high quality and willing to pay more for the benefit. However, some consumers think local foods should have lower price. Specific lifestyle also motivates some consumers to shop at farmers' markets, such as cooking, baking, or

Besides those factors, Hunt [47] linked the demographic factors with the motivating factors to shop in farmers' market. He believed that the social interaction is a significant motivator for consumers based on their demographic characteristics. His research was based on more than 200 consumers in the farmers' market. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they had fun while interacting with other people in farmers' market, 94% of them talk with vendors, and 81% of people meet people they know in the market. Therefore, farmers' market can be a platform for those seniors to interact with people and increase their satisfaction of shopping experience. He also claimed that 45% of them know the farmers' market by word of mouth. This can also be an effective marketing strategy of those farmers' markets. In another study, Wittman et al. [15] suggests that personal interactions between vendors and consumers is partially why farmers' markets are one of the most important market channels for local food. Some respondents prefer more choices of marketing channels, but the authentic relationships built through direct marketing can hardly be paralleled by other channels [15]. Such direct communication allows vendors to better share the stories behind the fresh produces, enabling the patrons

strategy can promote the local businesses and entrepreneurism.

#### *Exploring Constituents of Short Food Supply Chains DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93401*

*Operations Management - Emerging Trend in the Digital Era*

the study of two pork supply chains in the UK. The pressing need to become more integrated urges the red meat chains to make unprecedented changes to their traditional business model [39] and build trust between different echelons in their supply chains and establish cooperation between the supply chain members to attract consumers to choose the domestically produced pork products than imported. Local food production is more accessible to consumers, and this increases the health and security of the food [22]. The popularity of short food supply chain in Belgium is another sign of its influence in Europe. Similarly, short food supply chains are also potentially prone to contamination in the environment where the food was produced or harvested. Microbiological safety and quality aspects of the chains are specifically concerned with the microbiological safety aspects of food and food production [17]. Even short food supply chains with a lower level of complexity have links which can potentially pose some threats to the food safety. While practices and policies such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), European Hygiene Legislation, Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Good Manufacturing Practices are enforced, but still, sources of contamination are likely to undermine the safety of at least of the links of the supply chains [17].

Currently, the farmers in SFSCs have individual experiences with selecting the quality of raw materials, and they also keep an eye on the production that takes place. Therefore, the microbiological risks can be contained in most cases. Shorter chain and smaller scale help farms reduce the cycle of turnover, and consumers can purchase the food items in a short time after production. Smaller farms have fewer kinds of food being produced, therefore lower the possibility of crosscontamination. Additionally, smaller farms have a tradition of maintaining food safety and quality [17]. On the other hand, some farms have both fresh plant and animal productions, which are more likely to lead to cross-contamination through irrigation water or crops [17]. Also, the lack of professional food safety knowledge is

potentially undermining the farmers' ability to avoid microbiological risks. From the consumer's perspective, local food reduces the risk of food safety and security to them, because local foods are usually less processed and fresher and there is a high level of transparency. Consumers can either reach their sites of production or talk to growers to obtain information about local grown foods [40].

**2. Demographics, motivations, and impacts of consumers participating** 

of local actors. For instance, it promotes the development of the local economy, reduces the distance of transportation, and facilitates the sustainable development [41]. Abate [1] believes that the local food economy can connect and involve the different local actors in the local community, revitalize businesses that may be hardly surviving and provide them with business opportunities, and also promote the sense of identity which is similar to the viewpoint of Oberholtzer and Grow [42]. It can also create job opportunities, increase the local income, and diversify the local economy. Feenstra et al. [43] argued that the farmers' market provided the best opportunity for farmers to develop their businesses, improved their skills on dealing with customer relations and other marketing practices, and also encouraged them to add values to their products or services which also benefit their customers. Hughes and Boys [44] also discussed about the economic impacts of local food. They believe that the local food system will bring multiple benefits to different actors in the system, such as vendors, local labors, and farmers' markets. Furthermore, the localization can also contribute to the higher quality of life,

People started to realize that local food system can substantially benefit a variety

**352**

**in AFNs**

because he believed that the regional growth has been a new economic development pattern in the modern world. Meanwhile, the localization of food as a marketing strategy can promote the local businesses and entrepreneurism.

The motivators of consumers to attend the farmers' market is also of interest for researchers to study. From theoretical perspective, Conner et al. [45] believed that local food basically creates three values for consumers. First is the shortened distance of travel from the production place to the market. Second is the higher quality of food which mainly indicates the freshness. Third is the social interactions that refer to face to face communication. Also, the perceptions of quality are different in the various regions, ranging from environmental sustainability and animal welfare to rural tradition, local knowledge, and culture [13]. A number of studies have shown the consumers' interest in foods with local attributes. Generally, researches constantly showed the strong willingness of consumers to buy in farmers' markets, and those shoppers have similar demographic characteristics, but their motivating factors can be slightly different between different regions. Based on the research in different regions of the US, Baker et al. [5] suggested that the most important reasons of consumers using farmers' markets are accessing fresh local foods and supporting local agriculture. But consumers in Manitoba, Canada, have demonstrated different motivations, based on the research by Food Matters Manitoba [46]; the major driver of attending farmers' markets of consumers in Manitoba was to support the local economy, and the second most important is to help local farmers. The interest in the food quality was only placed at third. However, based on the research for consumers across the whole country, they perceive the top motivator for buying local food products was freshness of food, and supporting local agriculture business was reported as the second most important factor [46]. Therefore, Manitoban consumers have more concern on the community development than other places in Canada. Byker et al. [24] argues that based on the studies in different areas, some motivating factors to participate in AFNs are consistent, including freshness and high quality of food, food safety and security, pesticide-free, support local agriculture, and social interactions. Some other factors can vary from different regions or different consumers; for instance, convenience is an important factor for some consumers but not for all. The price of a product was also concerned by a part of consumers. Conner et al. [45] found similar phenomenon; some consumers perceived local foods as high quality and willing to pay more for the benefit. However, some consumers think local foods should have lower price. Specific lifestyle also motivates some consumers to shop at farmers' markets, such as cooking, baking, or interest in some specific types of food.

Besides those factors, Hunt [47] linked the demographic factors with the motivating factors to shop in farmers' market. He believed that the social interaction is a significant motivator for consumers based on their demographic characteristics. His research was based on more than 200 consumers in the farmers' market. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they had fun while interacting with other people in farmers' market, 94% of them talk with vendors, and 81% of people meet people they know in the market. Therefore, farmers' market can be a platform for those seniors to interact with people and increase their satisfaction of shopping experience. He also claimed that 45% of them know the farmers' market by word of mouth. This can also be an effective marketing strategy of those farmers' markets. In another study, Wittman et al. [15] suggests that personal interactions between vendors and consumers is partially why farmers' markets are one of the most important market channels for local food. Some respondents prefer more choices of marketing channels, but the authentic relationships built through direct marketing can hardly be paralleled by other channels [15]. Such direct communication allows vendors to better share the stories behind the fresh produces, enabling the patrons

to be more knowledgeable about the total cost of the produces, and therefore the reason for these patrons to pay a premium price becomes more justified [15].

A number of researchers had put their efforts on characterizing farmers' market consumers. From the demographic perspective, National farmers' market impact study report from 2009 [48] suggested that 72% of consumers are female while 28% are male in Canada, and 70% of them are 40 years and older, and about 30% of them are between 50 and 64. Byker et al. [24] found that the percentage of female consumers in different states of the US was ranging from 64 to 77%, and their average age was over 40 years old. Researchers also found most of consumers are well-educated regardless of their age and gender. The study by Conner et al. [45] on consumers showed that the average education level was college. Hunt [47] also had similar outcomes on his research. Brown [22] described most consumers as middle aged, middle income or above, well educated women. In another study, it is reported that younger people from age 21 to 29 are not interested in supporting local farmers, and people with lower incomes even have no perceptions of farmers' markets [49].

Johnson and Endres [9] reported consumer's desire for fresh, high quality, and pesticide-free foods as the top reasons for purchasing locally produced food products. Second is to minimize the environmental footprint in the production process and reduce transportation emissions. Third is to reduce the cost of farmers in transportation, processing, and packaging foods and help them to achieve a higher profitability.

From managerial point of view, based on the survey conducted by Oberholtzer and Grow [42], most managers of farmers' market believed that the impacts brought by farmers' market to the community can be in many aspects. They described that a farmers' market provides a platform for all kinds of social and economic practices. This benefits to the form of community and increases the individuals' sense of belonging to the community. Meanwhile, its basic function also enables it to provide consumers with fresh and inexpensive food.

### **3. Vendors' perspective on selling products in farmers' market**

Although researches have reported growing consumer interest in local food, most statistics has shown that the sales volume of farmers' market continuously represent only a small portion of total food sales. Onozaka et al. [50] found that 83% of consumers believed their primary source of buying foods is supermarket. The conventional retailers are still primary channel for consumers to buy foods [18]. This fact shows inconsistency with the benefits associated with farmers' markets in the community and high demand and willingness of consumers on shopping in farmers' market. In addition, based on the Canadian survey on vendors in 2008, 42% of vendors reported more than a half of their incomes are generated in the farmers' market. In other words, income from the farmers' markets is not major a source of income for most farm owners in Canada.

Some researchers described that the primary motivator of local food movement is to reduce the carbon emission and promote community development and improve reciprocity [40, 51]. As an essential constituent of the economy, the agricultural sector in Greece, for example, was primarily located in isolated rural areas with scarce resources contributing significantly to the sustainable rural development, but still face economic difficulties [52]. Researchers also found that the vendors' interests on selling their products in local market are not aligned with the consumers' demands to buy local. Schneider and Francis [41] conducted a survey that examined the consumers' interests on local food and vendors' interest

**355**

quality of products [53].

*Exploring Constituents of Short Food Supply Chains DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93401*

other regions rather than in local market.

on selling local. Their result showed that more than a half (50.7%) of consumers are very interested in farmers' market and 12.9% of the total consumers are extremely interested. However, in terms of farmers' interest, 65.2% of them are not interested in selling products through farmers' market, and only 2.7% of them are extremely interested. The results indicated that the farm owners prefer to sell their crops in

Previous studies indicated that there are both benefits and challenges for farmers to sell their products in farmers' markets. In terms of benefits, from vendor's perspective, first, to sell in local market can shorten the distance they travel, which means it reduces the transportation cost [47]. Second, selling in local market enables them to have more interactions with consumers, and improve their operations by understanding consumers' demands. Based on the Canadian vendor survey, 25% of vendors agreed the farmers' markets provide them with a friendly and attractive environment to market their products [48]. Moreover, they believe that farmers' markets provide them with more business opportunities which help them to thrive. Hunt [47] suggested that farmers who sell in the farmers' markets prioritized the social interactions over the profits. Based on his study of vendors in farmers' markets, the most important motivator for them to sell in farmers' market is to build relationship between consumers, then is to generate profit. Actually, he found that 94% of shoppers in farmers' markets would talk to vendors, two-thirds of them would make friendly gossip, more than a half (55%) of them discuss the production methods with vendors, and 44% of them had dialogues about sampling products. Social interactions also incorporate communications between vendors. Beckie et al. [18] claimed farmers' market plays a role of clustering vendors in western provinces of Canada. They suggested that in western Canada, vendors collaborate with each other to achieve their common goals including improved profitability, diversified customer bases, or increased creativity in marketing practices. This kind of clustering enables them to exchange their knowledges, which provides the knowledge mobilization. Knowledge mobilization is particularly important in food sector because it comes with health and safety concerns as well as environmental concerns. It also broadens the labor base and involves more actors in the supply chain. Those interactions have a lot of implications to vendors. First, it can help vendors build solid connections with consumers and improve their loyalty. Second, interactions with consumers and farmers in local market can promote social learning, lead to the innovation on farming practices, and help vendors improve the

Nevertheless, some papers also identified some challenges and barriers for farmers to sell in the local market. Robinson and Farmer [25] claimed that for vendors, the biggest challenge is consumers' perception. As mentioned previously, some consumers are not willing to pay premium for the benefits of local food. But in fact, their cost can be higher than those nonlocal producers as farmers' markets charge them membership fee. They are also struggling on marketing their foods which are also costly, and if they cannot maintain their sales volume at a certain level, they may not be able to cover their costs. Attending farmers' markets will cost vendors in different forms [4]. They argued that major costs include time, gas, equipment and supplies, and different kinds of fees like insurance, permit fees, etc. This is one of the reasons that the consumers in farmers' markets are always more educated and with higher income. Because they are more likely to pay premium for the local foods. Therefore, based on the Robinson and Farmer's [25] description, the first challenge for vendors is to convince more potential consumers to pay for their products with price premium. The second barrier is the gap between consumer demand and supply in terms of season. Research suggests that most of the consumers in farmers' markets are loyal consumers and they visit farmers' market frequently,

#### *Exploring Constituents of Short Food Supply Chains DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93401*

*Operations Management - Emerging Trend in the Digital Era*

to be more knowledgeable about the total cost of the produces, and therefore the reason for these patrons to pay a premium price becomes more justified [15].

A number of researchers had put their efforts on characterizing farmers' market consumers. From the demographic perspective, National farmers' market impact study report from 2009 [48] suggested that 72% of consumers are female while 28% are male in Canada, and 70% of them are 40 years and older, and about 30% of them are between 50 and 64. Byker et al. [24] found that the percentage of female consumers in different states of the US was ranging from 64 to 77%, and their average age was over 40 years old. Researchers also found most of consumers are well-educated regardless of their age and gender. The study by Conner et al. [45] on consumers showed that the average education level was college. Hunt [47] also had similar outcomes on his research. Brown [22] described most consumers as middle aged, middle income or above, well educated women. In another study, it is reported that younger people from age 21 to 29 are not interested in supporting local farmers, and people with lower incomes even have no perceptions of farmers'

Johnson and Endres [9] reported consumer's desire for fresh, high quality, and pesticide-free foods as the top reasons for purchasing locally produced food products. Second is to minimize the environmental footprint in the production process and reduce transportation emissions. Third is to reduce the cost of farmers in transportation, processing, and packaging foods and help them to achieve a higher

From managerial point of view, based on the survey conducted by Oberholtzer

and Grow [42], most managers of farmers' market believed that the impacts brought by farmers' market to the community can be in many aspects. They described that a farmers' market provides a platform for all kinds of social and economic practices. This benefits to the form of community and increases the individuals' sense of belonging to the community. Meanwhile, its basic function also enables

**3. Vendors' perspective on selling products in farmers' market**

Although researches have reported growing consumer interest in local food, most statistics has shown that the sales volume of farmers' market continuously represent only a small portion of total food sales. Onozaka et al. [50] found that 83% of consumers believed their primary source of buying foods is supermarket. The conventional retailers are still primary channel for consumers to buy foods [18]. This fact shows inconsistency with the benefits associated with farmers' markets in the community and high demand and willingness of consumers on shopping in farmers' market. In addition, based on the Canadian survey on vendors in 2008, 42% of vendors reported more than a half of their incomes are generated in the farmers' market. In other words, income from the farmers' markets is not major a

Some researchers described that the primary motivator of local food movement is to reduce the carbon emission and promote community development and improve reciprocity [40, 51]. As an essential constituent of the economy, the agricultural sector in Greece, for example, was primarily located in isolated rural areas with scarce resources contributing significantly to the sustainable rural development, but still face economic difficulties [52]. Researchers also found that the vendors' interests on selling their products in local market are not aligned with the consumers' demands to buy local. Schneider and Francis [41] conducted a survey that examined the consumers' interests on local food and vendors' interest

it to provide consumers with fresh and inexpensive food.

source of income for most farm owners in Canada.

**354**

markets [49].

profitability.

on selling local. Their result showed that more than a half (50.7%) of consumers are very interested in farmers' market and 12.9% of the total consumers are extremely interested. However, in terms of farmers' interest, 65.2% of them are not interested in selling products through farmers' market, and only 2.7% of them are extremely interested. The results indicated that the farm owners prefer to sell their crops in other regions rather than in local market.

Previous studies indicated that there are both benefits and challenges for farmers to sell their products in farmers' markets. In terms of benefits, from vendor's perspective, first, to sell in local market can shorten the distance they travel, which means it reduces the transportation cost [47]. Second, selling in local market enables them to have more interactions with consumers, and improve their operations by understanding consumers' demands. Based on the Canadian vendor survey, 25% of vendors agreed the farmers' markets provide them with a friendly and attractive environment to market their products [48]. Moreover, they believe that farmers' markets provide them with more business opportunities which help them to thrive. Hunt [47] suggested that farmers who sell in the farmers' markets prioritized the social interactions over the profits. Based on his study of vendors in farmers' markets, the most important motivator for them to sell in farmers' market is to build relationship between consumers, then is to generate profit. Actually, he found that 94% of shoppers in farmers' markets would talk to vendors, two-thirds of them would make friendly gossip, more than a half (55%) of them discuss the production methods with vendors, and 44% of them had dialogues about sampling products. Social interactions also incorporate communications between vendors. Beckie et al. [18] claimed farmers' market plays a role of clustering vendors in western provinces of Canada. They suggested that in western Canada, vendors collaborate with each other to achieve their common goals including improved profitability, diversified customer bases, or increased creativity in marketing practices. This kind of clustering enables them to exchange their knowledges, which provides the knowledge mobilization. Knowledge mobilization is particularly important in food sector because it comes with health and safety concerns as well as environmental concerns. It also broadens the labor base and involves more actors in the supply chain. Those interactions have a lot of implications to vendors. First, it can help vendors build solid connections with consumers and improve their loyalty. Second, interactions with consumers and farmers in local market can promote social learning, lead to the innovation on farming practices, and help vendors improve the quality of products [53].

Nevertheless, some papers also identified some challenges and barriers for farmers to sell in the local market. Robinson and Farmer [25] claimed that for vendors, the biggest challenge is consumers' perception. As mentioned previously, some consumers are not willing to pay premium for the benefits of local food. But in fact, their cost can be higher than those nonlocal producers as farmers' markets charge them membership fee. They are also struggling on marketing their foods which are also costly, and if they cannot maintain their sales volume at a certain level, they may not be able to cover their costs. Attending farmers' markets will cost vendors in different forms [4]. They argued that major costs include time, gas, equipment and supplies, and different kinds of fees like insurance, permit fees, etc. This is one of the reasons that the consumers in farmers' markets are always more educated and with higher income. Because they are more likely to pay premium for the local foods. Therefore, based on the Robinson and Farmer's [25] description, the first challenge for vendors is to convince more potential consumers to pay for their products with price premium. The second barrier is the gap between consumer demand and supply in terms of season. Research suggests that most of the consumers in farmers' markets are loyal consumers and they visit farmers' market frequently,

spend a lot in there, and have solid personal relationships with vendors [45]. Canadian researches on consumers also indicated that consumers are not satisfied with the limited season and hours for the farmers' markets because their demands cannot be fulfilled. But due to the limitation of technique and knowledge for most small-scale farm owners, they are not capable for the season extension practices. This limitation increases the potential of losing loyal customers. The third is the limited ability to promote the awareness to a larger base of population. Farmers' Markets Canada [48] also found that the top two reasons for people to not shop at farmers' markets are the inconvenience of location and the lack of awareness, and according to Colasanti et al. [49], the major reasons for less awareness of farmers' markets are largely due to the ineffective promotion strategy and the inconvenience of location. According to Wittman et al. [15], many customers would choose to support locally sourced food when there is a greater variety of products and easier accessibility for shopping.

The primary challenges facing farmers' markets in Canada are exerted by the conventional food networks, competitive prices and scaling-up of production, and an unpredictable environment [15]. As a labor-intensive industry with its ethical standards, vendors at farmers' markets must pay a living wage to their employees, and at the same time, the investment in environmentally sustainable practices further raises the cost of production [15]. Specific constraints are exerting pressure to the further development of SFSC, primarily in the shortage of necessary knowledge and skills, lack of entrepreneurial culture in farmers, or administrative burden which may baffle small farmers [13].
