It’s All in the SKU: Getting Food from Somewhere from the Field to the Dinner Plate while Using a Large Scale Retailer

Carolyn M. Haythorn, Daniel C. Knudsen, James R. Farmer, Carmen C. Antreasian and Megan E. Betz
Additional contact information
Carolyn M. Haythorn: Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Daniel C. Knudsen: Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
James R. Farmer: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Carmen C. Antreasian: Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Megan E. Betz: Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: The local food movement provides sustainable food, but often suffers from a lack of economic viability. We examine the need for concerned consumers, qualified growers, and responsible retailers. Concerned consumers are individuals who desire food from somewhere, but must shop at food retailers. Qualified growers sell sustainable food from somewhere, and must be able to set their own prices. Responsible retailers provide consumers with food from somewhere. Taken together, currently there is no good system in place to allow for large scale purchases and long term sales of food from somewhere for a retailer. To solve this, we propose a benevolent wholesaler model, in which stock keeping unit (SKU) numbers are given to each type of product from each farm. This enables tracking of the origin of the produce by retail customers and individual consumers, while retaining the attributes of a food system that allow for large scale purchases and long term sales. Such systems are no less sustainable, but potentially provide enhanced economic viability for producers.

Keywords: enabling food from somewhere; benevolent wholesalers; stock keeping units (SKUs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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