Specialty Crop

Local food systems provide critical redundancies to the national food supply chain, which has become more concentrated and prone to bottlenecks. In addition to local foods systems’ shorter and more nimble supply chains, they are better able to cater to Wyomingites’ values, tastes, and preferences. Wyoming’s local food system has been growing, but faces unique challenges, including high transportation costs, lack of secondary markets for animal processing byproducts, and a lack of food system infrastructure like cold storage, contract packagers, and a state brand that informs consumers of Wyoming-made products.

Still, Wyomingites’ enthusiasm for ingenuity and self-determination has sparked multiple opportunities and initiatives led by industry, state, and institutions. It is estimated that Wyoming’s local food sector currently contributes $24.4 million to Wyoming’s economy. If Wyomingites spent just 5% of their food-at-home budget on local foods, we could expect the local food system to contribute an additional $36.3 million to Wyoming’s state GDP, after accounting for reduced purchases at conventional grocery stores. This study shows how investing in Wyoming’s local food system not only supports our agricultural industry and communities, but also stimulates economic growth by reducing the state’s reliance on imported foods with long supply chains.