Urban Agriculture: The Impact of Local Food on Community Life

The urban agriculture and local food movement is gaining momentum in communities across the United States. There is an overwhelming feeling of community “readiness” for local food. Watauga County, in particular, successfully encourages and supports local agriculture practices. There is a market demand for producers to sell goods and numerous opportunities for consumers to eat locally produced food. This literature review provides a comprehensive study of local food system efforts in Watauga County through the examination of ways local food is currently integrated into the landscape. This review analyzes the benchmarks for success and failure, and the recognized impact of local food on community life ultimately determines the social, environmental, and economic reasons for continuing to produce quality food for community benefits.