Assessment of U.S. Consumers’ Underlying Beliefs about Local Food Purchase

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to get insight into the essential cognitive basis of local food purchase behavior based on Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior. By asking open-ended questions using an online survey, participants’ (n=163) salient behavioral, normative, and control beliefs in regard to local food purchase were assessed and analyzed. The most salient advantage was supporting local economy, followed by freshness, knowledge of where the food came from and how it was handled, environmental benefits, and health benefits. Assessing to consumers’ normative beliefs found that local businesses, local farmers, family, local people, and friends were the most frequently mentioned individuals or groups who would approve consumers’ local food purchasing. In contrast, the most salient barrier was inconvenient store location and time, followed by higher prices, limited availability and variety, and limited knowledge about where to buy local food.