Friday, May 25, 2012

New Index Ranks Minnesota 17th in Locally Grown Food Consumption

The 2012 "Locavore Index" has ranked Minnesota as 17th in the nation in our commitment to raising and eating locally grown food. Our neighbors, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, all came ahead of Minnesota in the Index. Eight of the 12 states in the North Central region made the top 20. 

According to Strolling of the Heifers, "using data exclusively from government sources (principally USDA and US Census data) dating from 2010 and 2011, the Locavore Index measures the commitment of states to locally-sourced foods by measuring the per-capita presence of Community-Supported Agricultural enterprises and Farmers Markets, each of which is an indication of both the availability and demand for locally-produced food." 

The 2012 Locavore Index Ranking of States 
(Click here for a PDF chart including the underlying data and sources used to develop the Index):

1. Vermont
2. Iowa
3. Montana
4. Maine
5. Hawaii
6. Kentucky
7. North Dakota
8. South Dakota
9. Wyoming
10. Idaho
11. West Virginia
12. Nebraska
13. New Hampshire
14. Oregon
15. Wisconsin
16. New Mexico
17. Minnesota
18. Missouri
19. Kansas
20. Oklahoma
21. Arkansas
22. Washington
23. Mississippi
24. Rhode Island
25. Michigan
26. Alabama
27. Alaska
28. Massachusetts
29. Connecticut
30. Indiana
31. Colorado
32. North Carolina
33. South Carolina
34. Virginia
35. Ohio
36. Tennessee
37. Utah
38. Pennsylvania
39. Maryland
40. Illinois
41. California
42. New York
43. Texas
44. Georgia
45. Delaware
46. Louisiana
47. Nevada
48. New Jersey
49. Arizona
50. Florida

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]