Local Food sales data will be requested from dozens of entities in each of the five participating states, such as food distributors and food hubs, hospital food service directors, grocery retailers including food coops, restaurant associations, food manufacturing associations, schools, colleges/universities, and farms that sell direct to wholesalers (not through a distributor), along with direct-to-consumer sales data from the US Census of Agriculture.  This state level data will then be aggregated into a total local food sales figure. The data for all food sales in a given state comes from federal sources (e.g., Consumer Expenditure Survey, USDA Economic Research Service – State-level Food Expenditure Series, and the US Economic Census). The ratio of these two data points (local food sales data / all food sales data) will tell us the percentage of local food sales in a given state.

In order to be able to compare local food counts across each of the six New England states, and to be able to aggregate them into a regional food counts estimate, we are defining what is considered to be “local” in the same manner. Because the Vermont Legislature updated how local food is defined in Vermont (and is the only state in the region to have done so), we are adapting the Vermont definition for each of the other five states.

Click here for a complete list of the product categories and corresponding definitions being used for the Local Food Counts project.

• Definitions:
  1. “Eggs” means eggs that are the product of laying birds, including: chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, or quail, and that are in the shell. 
  2. “Majority of ingredients” means more than 50 percent of all product ingredients by volume, excluding water. 
  3. “Processed food” means any food other than a raw agricultural product and includes a raw agricultural product that has been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, dehydrating, milling, or the addition of other ingredients. Processed food includes dairy, meat, maple products, beverages, fruit, or vegetables that have been subject to processing, baked, or modified into a value-added or unique food product.
  4. “Raw agricultural product” means any food in its raw or natural state without added ingredients, including pasteurized or homogenized milk, maple sap or syrup, honey, meat, eggs, apple cider, and fruits or vegetables that may be washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled natural form prior to marketing. 
  5. “Substantial period of its life” means an animal that was harvested in [state] and lived in [state] for at least one third of its life or one year. 
  6. “Unique food product” means food processed in [state] from ingredients that are not regularly produced in [state] or not available in sufficient quantities to meet production requirements. 
• As used in this section: “local,” “local to [state],” “locally grown or made in [state],” and any substantially similar term shall have the following meaning based on the type of food or food product: 
  1. For products that are raw agricultural products, “local to [state]” means the product:
     • was exclusively grown or tapped in [state]; 
     • is not milk and was derived from an animal that was raised for a substantial period of its lifetime in [state]; 
     • is milk where a majority of the milk was produced from [state] animals; or 
     • is honey produced by [state] colonies located exclusively in [state] when all nectar was collected. 
  2. Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, for products that are processed foods, “local to [state]” means: 
     • the majority of the ingredients are raw agricultural products that are local to [state]; and 
     • the product meets one or both or the following criteria: 
       1. the product was processed in [state]; or 
       2. the headquarters of the company that manufactures the product is located in [state]. 
  3. For bakery products, beverages, or unique food products, the product meets two or more of the following criteria: 
     • the majority of the ingredients are raw agricultural products that are local to [state]; 
     • substantial transformation of the ingredients in the product occurred in [state]; or 
     • the headquarters of the company that manufactures the product is located in [state]. 

Aggregated data by food category and market channel from each state will be visually presented on each Partner’s website and on this website, similar to how Vermont displays its data here (3 graphs). By establishing the 2022 baseline for five states, along with Vermont’s 2020 local food count results, we can then aggregate all six states to estimate a regional food consumption percentage. This regional food figure will be conservative, however, as it will not reflect local food produced in one New England state and sold in another New England state. But this regional figure will give us a relative sense of how close we are to achieving our 30% goal. By conducting the local food counts in all six states again in 2026 (for 2025 data) and 2031 (for 2030 data), we will be able to track progress towards our 30% goal for 2030. This regional food counts figure can also be used to encourage greater regional food sourcing through various market channels in the region.

All information collected shall be kept confidential and will be analyzed and aggregated by the data analysis team. The Local Food Counts project data collection process is being sponsored by the New England Food System Planners Partnership, which includes: Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, NH Food Alliance, Connecticut Food System Alliance, Rhode Island Food Policy Council, Maine Food Strategy, and VT Farm to Plate in collaboration with Food Solutions New England. Non-Disclosure Agreements will be available for businesses interested in a formal commitment of confidentiality.

This project is modeled on Vermont as is the only state to have passed an Act on the definition of ‘local’ (Act 129: Local Definition) & to have previously conducted local food counts (2011, 2014, 2017, 2020).