Announcing the release of “The Impact of Institutional Sales on Massachusetts Farms”

We are very excited to announce the release of our new report “The Impact of Institutional Sales on Massachusetts Farms.”  This report, authored by Melissa Adams, shares research conducted in 2015 with over 70 Massachusetts farms. Farmers were asked a number of questions about their involvement with institutional sales, including their perceptions of this market, their gross sales to institutions, and the barriers, as well as, the opportunities they face in the institutional marketplace.

While institutional sales are often held up by food and agriculture advocates as a great opportunity for farmers, we wanted to know whether this is really the case and whether farmers agree with this assessment. Our research suggests that institutional markets can truly be good business for farms. And while the number of farms reporting direct sales to institutions did not rise since our last survey in 2011, the volume of direct sales reported has more than doubled!

This research will help inform our strategy as we work to support farm viability in Massachusetts and expand access to healthy, locally grown foods for all people in the Commonwealth.

Full Report

Summary of Results