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As consumer interest in locally grown food increases, farmers and organizations are working on inventive ways to supply fresh and affordable local food to residents. The Intervale Center, a nonprofit in Burlington, Vermont, partnered with small and midscale farmers to create the Intervale Food Hub, a collaborative of staff and farmers that aggregates, markets, and distributes local products through both a multifarm community supported agriculture (CSA) program and wholesale. Informed by surveys conducted to assess supply and demand in the region, the Food Hub provides businesses, restaurants, retailers, institutions, and individuals with year-round access to a diverse mix of fresh and value-added local food. The Intervale Center serves as a local distributor, purchasing products from up to 30 farmers and coordinating packaging, marketing, distribution, and business operations. Year-round, shared space is available to conduct business operations, including packaging and short-term storage. After three years of operation, the Food Hub has begun exploring ownership structures and geographic expansion. Using a participatory action research approach, this case study reviews the enterprise's development and outcomes. We provide a qualitative assessment of farmer and staff perceptions of successful practices and limitations, and conclude with recommendations for future research.

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The ‘island factor’ refers to a series of shared energy‐related issues that many island nations face due to their isolation and limited population size. Under such conditions, one of the only ways to reduce energy costs for consumers is through energy efficiency – including the use of energy‐saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. This study uses consumer survey data to investigate how awareness, past purchasing behaviour, and demographic characteristics influence Saint Lucian consumers’ intentions to purchase energy‐saving compact fluorescent bulbs. The findings indicate that a lack of awareness and understanding of energy efficiency, combined with high product costs and a lack of product availability currently inhibit the adoption of compact fluorescent technologies by Saint Lucian consumers. Awareness of energy efficiency, income and geographic location are identified as significant factors related to increased use of and willingness to pay for compact fluorescent bulbs. In the discussion, possibilities for public education and cost subsidy for compact fluorescent bulb promotion are proposed.

This paper examines the influences of question wording on consumers’ levels of support for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products. Pairs of questions, offering varied amounts of information on the benefits and risks of GMOs, are posed to consumers in a specific geographic area (Vermont, USA) to ascertain the factors that impact on levels of support for this technology. A multivariate analysis is conducted to examine how knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural intentions affect changes in levels of support. The findings suggest that consumers’ levels of support do vary based on question wording. It is further found that knowledge and behavioural intentions play a consistently significant role in influencing change in support for GMOs. Implications for both consumer advocacy groups and industry groups are discussed.