Motives for buying local, organic food through English box schemes

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the growing interest of English consumers in local organic food sold through box schemes, by providing insights into the motives of customers of such schemes and examining the relationship with their awareness about problems of the agro-food system. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods approach combined in-depth interviews with 22 box scheme customers with a quantitative survey of 416 consumers, analysed by means of principal component analysis and an ordered logit model. Findings Consumers of small local organic box schemes in England are both altruistically and hedonistically motivated. This includes a strong political motivation to change the current food system, as shown by the strong influence of an anti-globalisation factor and wanting to support small farmers. They perceive local organic food as a more environmentally sustainable alternative to the mainstream food system. The box schemes offer consumers a practical alternative by providing high quality products combined with convenience illustrating the importance of the latter also in local food shopping. This reinforces the possibility to successfully combining the attributes of “local” and “organic”. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in only one country (England) with about 400 consumers of ten organic farmer-led box schemes. It was based on a self-selecting sample of consumers of such schemes, which included a large proportion of females and people with high level of education. Further research is needed to validate the results. Originality/value This study is the first academic study investigating the main factors affecting consumers’ choice to purchase local organic food through a number of English box schemes. It identifies that such consumers are ethically and politically motivated and show some differences compared with the general literature on organic food consumption.

Culinary Tourism Experiences in Agri-Tourism Destinations and Sustainable Consumption—Understanding Italian Tourists’ Motivations

“…This is also supported by the literature on local food consumption, revealing that the desire to protect the environment play a crucial role in consumers interest towards local food [64,65]. Migliore and colleagues [47] highlighted that consumers' concerns to reduce the environmental costs of food production and distribution plays a crucial role in influencing consumers' interest in local food. Seyfang [66] emphasized that the 're-localization' of food is associated to consumers' motivation of reducing the impacts of 'food miles', understood as the distance food travels between being produced and being consumed.…”

“…For example, Kline and colleagues [25] found a positive association between the consumers' concerns over the humane treatment of animals and environmental impacts of the mainstream supply chain and the interest of tourists to experience local food, in particular, meat, in agri-tourism destinations. The line of research on consumer preference for local food highlights further motivational dimensions affecting consumer choice, including environmental and social sustainability motives [47].…”

“…Several studies highlighted that the growing interest of consumers is often associated with the perception that local food is more nutritious, healthier and of higher quality than that sold in the mainstream supply chain [50,51], also because products have travelled a short distance to reach the consumer's table [47]. However, the most frequently named motivations for expressed preferences of local food among consumers seem related to environmental protection and support of the local economy [47].…”

Beyond Alternative Food Networks: Understanding Motivations to Participate in Orti Urbani in Palermo

“…As Hashem et al. () have highlighted, political motivations are the first motivation to participate in English box schemes, particular forms of AFNs in which farmers deliver weekly boxes of local and organic fruits and vegetables to customers’ homes or to a local collection point. Political reasons are also found to be important motivations in participate in the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups (Cembalo, Migliore, and Schifani ; Graziano and Forno ), as well as in some particular types of Italian farmers markets (Migliore, Schifani, and Cembalo 2015a).…”

“…These alternative projects represent templates for the reconfiguration of capitalist society along more ecologically sustainable and socially progressive lines, where relations of trust between food producers and consumers are established (DuPuis and Block ; Hashem et al. ). AFNs are also seen as a reaction to the conventional agro‐food system, which responds to an economic configuration of efficiency that does not ensure high‐quality products in terms of nutritional values and environmental sustainability (Gilg and Battershill ; Migliore, Schifani, and Cembalo 2015a; Morgan, Marsden, and Murdoch ; Morris and Kirwan ; Murdoch, Marsden, and Banks ; Pascucci et al.…”