Hultberg, Annalisa2018-04-122018-04-122010https://hdl.handle.net/11299/195489This research was conducted in order to understand the costs that retail buyers incur when sourcing local foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, so that strategies to overcome these barriers can be determined. Preliminary exploratory interviews and a literature review indicate that 'transaction costs', that is, the time and money needed to work with multiple farmers to source local foods, decreases the amount of food that stores will buy. The goal of this research was to develop a deeper understanding of challenges relating transporting, ordering, and purchasing local foods (here defined as fruits and vegetables grown in Minnesota or Western Wisconsin) from the perspective of retail buyers so that strategies can be developed to overcome these hurdles and increase the amount of local foods purchased by stores. This research: 1. Describes major trends, preferences, and requirements of grocery stores and co-ops that source local foods. 2. Examines and compare transaction costs associated with purchasing local foods from the perspective of grocery stores and co-ops who buy local foods through various suppliers (direct from farmer, distributor/wholesaler).enCommunity Assistantship Program (CAP)Report