Editor's Note: The following is based on results from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Slightly more than 6 in 10 consumers (62%) polled by The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey said they make a conscious effort to buy locally grown or regional produce.
The survey found that support for locally grown items was broad across demographic variables.
Fresh Trends 2023 found that 69% of those consumers earning more than $100,000 a year said they tried to buy local or regional produce, compared with 59% for those making $50,000 to $100,000 annually, 62% for those making $25,000 to just under $50,000 a year and 59% for those earning less than $25,000 annually.
By gender, the effort to buy local or regional produce was roughly the same in the survey, with 63% of women and 60% of men indicating that choice.
One demographic variable with a wider range of responses is households with kids at home, according to Fresh Trends 2023. The survey shows that 74% of households with kids try to buy local, compared with 53% for households with no kids.
By geographic region, consumers in the South were the biggest supporter of local/regional produce, according to the survey. Sixty-four percent of consumers in the South said they tried to buy local or regional produce, compared with 61% in the West, 58% in the Midwest and 62% in the Northeast.
Younger consumers are strong supporters of buying local, according to Fresh Trends 2023, with 68% of those aged 18-29 years old trying to purchase local or regional produce. Consumers aged 60 and older were least likely to try to buy local, with only half (50%) saying they make the effort.
By ethnic background, Fresh Trends found that support for local/regional produce purchases was 61% for white/Caucasian shoppers, 65% for Black/African American consumers, 66% for Hispanic shoppers and just 32% for Asian consumers.