I am investigating the state of the sustainable food movement in this economy. Specifically, New England, if it makes a difference.

Can somebody help me clarify a couple things:

1) For the consumer, is it more or less costly to buy local organic products directly from the farmer as opposed to buying the same products at the supermarket?

2) Whether or not it's organic, how does the cost of buying from sustainable farms in your area measure up to buying regular old non-organic products at the supermarket?

I understand the ethical costs, of course, but I'm interested in the money involved here. If anyone could point me towards a site or a study--anything authoritative on the topic--I'd be super grateful. Otherwise, just general observations would be helpful.

Thanks!

It's generally cheaper to buy from the grower as there are no middlepeople upping the prices. plus the food is fresher

Organic is just another brand. If you want to think of it as Kelloggs-Lite, or as a meta-brand (or even super-brand), it shifts your paradigm. It is still about marketing, shelf space and downward pressure on the producers. If you want local, however, you have a direct input into the transportation of your food, rather than relying on the supermarket and THEIR efficiencies (which you will pay for in the end anyways). Many people conflate organic and local, but they are really quite different. Sustainability is another issue altogether. If you think of sustainability, organic and local as three circles that have areas of overlap (like a Venn diagram - google it), the picture is much clearer.

It understand the bit about the Organic distinction. But are you saying that buying locally is actually affordable or more affordable than supermarket products?

Some products are certainly more affordable from local farmers than the supermarket. Here is a list from August 31, 2009 of all the produce that was cheaper from me than at the most popular supermarket in Ferndale.

Artichokes
Beets
Broccoli
Celeriac
Chard
Cilantro
Fennel
Fingerling potatoes
Kohlrabi
Peas - Snap
Peas - Snow
Peppers - Red/Yellow
Shallots
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes, cherry

You probably realize that each market-basket survey is unique to time and place. What gives you a good "feel" for your local market is when you do them regularly over a series of years and then balance your results against your subjective measures. These subjective measures include talking to the produce managers, produce buyers and other farmers, listening to customer comments, etc. Then you have to analyze how robust your prices are. I have a statistics background, so I am confident my methodology for setting prices is robust. That has been corroborated by my customers. Poor sales, at least in this country, are more a function of convenience and transportation, than of actual price/value comparison.

At the risk of flogging a dead horse, here is my take in a nutshell:
Organic is all about marketing.
Local is all about transportation and freshness.
Sustainable is all about energy inputs.

By the way, did I mention that I am competing against conventional produce, NOT organic. I always beat the organic prices by a wide margin and I market myself as Beyond Organic, since I do everything the NOP recommends, but also have a low carbon footprint because of no tractors.

locally grown sold direct almost always beat out the prices you see at grocery stores. When i do my pricing I too use conventional retail prices at the local chains as a comparison. So my not certified but beyond organic produce is generally a bit cheaper than the conventional prices.

if you cook a lot and buy in bulk in season and than can, dry or freeze the bounty pricing of food out of season gets even cheaper.

Local is the only way to eat. better quality, cheaper pricing, fresher and you the customer know where the food came from, who grew it and how. you will never get that from any grocery store no matter how many pretty signs they put up telling farmer stories.

I work in the pricing dept of a supermarket and I farm. When you are talking organic produce from a supermarket, the farmer will be cheaper, but not 100% of the time.

For many non-certified organic growers, or organic growers in areas without many organic buyers, they have to compete with regular supermarket produce which is never possible. Standard supermarket produce is pretty much always cheaper- especially the loss leader items that local small farmers could never compete with. Non-certified organic growers or those in markets without demand for certified produce will find IMHO that they need to price in between the standard supermarket prices and the organic produce prices.