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Lincoln, the capital city of a major farm state, spends $1.1 billion each year purchasing food that is sourced outside of the Lincoln Metro region. That is the conclusion of a new study just released by the Center for Rural Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Heartland Regional Food Business Center. The City of Lincoln's Mayor's Community Committee on Local Food plans to reference the study’s findings to inform future education efforts, as well as local food strategies and initiatives.
"We hope that the study will spark deeper discussions about the potential for local food in the Lincoln metro area," said Kjersten Herberger, local foods associate with the Center.
The "Lincoln Metro, Nebraska Local Farm and Food Economy" report was compiled by Ken Meter of Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis. It is a companion report to a similar statewide report released at the end of March. It will soon be joined by six similar reports for the rest of Nebraska.
The report concluded that the Lincoln metro area has strong potential for growing more of its own food. Already, 127 metro farms sell $2.3 million of food directly to household consumers. Moreover, if each Lincoln metro resident purchased, or had purchased for them, $5 of food every week directly from some farm in the region, this would boost farm income by $91 million each year. That would be a 12% increase over current farm income of $779 million. Coming at a time when 49% of the metro region's farms are reporting net losses, this could be a huge boost to the local economy.
Key Findings
- Personal income has grown significantly, but poverty persists
- The Lincoln Metro region's residents received $23.3 billion in personal income in 2023
- 25% of residents earn less than 185% of federal poverty guidelines
- 5% of households earn less than $10,000 per year
- SNAP benefits and farm subsidies reveal inequities
- Lincoln Metro residents average annual combined total of SNAP receipts equaled $29 million per year between 1989 and 2022
- Lincoln Metro farmers average annual combined total of farm subsidies equaled $36 million between 1989 and 2022
- Subsidies received by farms mostly support production of crops that do not directly feed Nebraskans while food insecurity is rising in the state
- The farm economy in Lincoln Metro is significant but faces challenges
- 2,914 farms sold $779 million in farm products in 2022
- 49% of the region's farms reported a net loss in 2022 (compared to 38% statewide)
- While crop sales have increased, production expenses have risen commensurately
- Farm size and sales data show a diverse agricultural landscape
- 45% of farms are less than 50 acres
- 44% of farms sold less than $10,000 of products in 2022
- 12% of farms (362 operations) sold more than $500,000, accounting for 82% of all sales
- Women play a significant role in the agricultural economy
- 55% of farms have female producers
- Women manage or co-manage 44% of the region's farm acreage
- The region has promising elements of a local food system
- 127 farms sold $2.3 million of products directly to consumers
- 31 farms sold $421,000 directly to retailers, institutions, and food hubs
- 72 farms raised 308 acres of vegetables
- 16 farms reported selling $8.9 million of organic products
- A tremendous opportunity exists to build local food connections
- Lincoln Metro consumers spend $1.3 billion on food annually
- At least 90% of this food is produced outside the region
- If each resident purchased (or had purchased for them) $5 of food weekly from local farms, this would generate $91 million in new farm income
- Currently only 0.2% of the consumer market comes from direct farm sales
The report is by Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center (Minneapolis) for Center For Rural Affairs and USDA Heartland Regional Food Business Center.
