Local food systems, short supply chains and perception of local food by consumers: a review and quantitative research

The purpose of this paper was to depict a concept of local food systems and short supply chains as well as to determine how local food is perceived and to identify local food attributes of relevance for the marketing communication targeted at young people. This paper consists of two parts. The first one presents the concepts of local food systems and short supply chains based on the analysis of literature data. The second part describes the results of a quantitative study on the young consumers’ perception of and willingness to buy local food. Based on an indirect technique, the study was carried out with a group of 155 Polish students. The questionnaire survey demonstrated that when characterizing local food, young consumers invoked the socioeconomic benefits related to its production. They paid less attention to the specific attributes of food products and to environmental benefits of their production and distribution, which might suggest that the initiatives undertaken to promote those products were poorly effective. The research results provide a useful source of knowledge for small local food businesses and policymakers engaged in supporting local food systems (especially public sector bodies and researchers).