COVID‑19 Food Autonomy

 New study suggests 4 in 5 Canadians are willing to pay extra for “locally grown” produce, while few consider provenance to be an important decision factor.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting supply chains and impacting food purchasing habits, Canadian households were expected to spend $12 667 on food during 2020.1 Following the impact to the supply chain, the pandemic has pushed governments to consider food autonomy as a priority and look more at local supply chains. This study was designed to gauge consumer willingness-to-pay for locally grown food as well as the perceptions of greenhouse-grown crops, what factors people consider when purchasing produce, where people purchase their produce, and how important fruits and vegetables are to their diets.

Media contact:

Sylvain Charlebois, Scientific Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab
Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University
sylvain.charlebois@dal.ca

Shannon Faires, Research Associate
Agri-Food Analytics Lab
Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University
shannon.faires@dal.ca

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