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]