New 1LOCAL Index brings transparency to food scene

PITTSBURGH, Pa. ­— The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) will hold a webinar on the 1LOCAL (One Local) Index, a local foods assessment and communication tool, June 8. The 1LOCAL Index was designed to activate a dialogue between consumers, local food businesses and the farms they support.

Webinar

PASA’s webinar, “From the Real Deal Project to the 1LOCAL Index: A Tool for Farmers Markets and Food Businesses,” is June 8, from 2-3 p.m. EST. The webinar will provide an introduction to the development of the 1LOCAL Index and a demonstration of the elements that comprise the 1LOCAL tool.

Background

In 2014, PASA launched its Real Deal Project to understand the concept of “local food.” The project sought to understand how consumers and food purveyors define local, what values are embedded in the concept of local food, and what food businesses are doing to communicate their local practices. This lead to the development of 1LOCAL Index, consisting of an online self-assessment, a customized infographic report and a best-practices toolkit.

Infographic

By completing the self-assessment, food businesses receive an infographic report to share with the public, featuring dollars spent on local food right in the middle, said Becky Clawson, PASA Business Member Services Associate. It also includes the business’s working definition for “local food” which consumers can use to determine if it aligns with their personal definition “…rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all guideline for what local has to mean,” she said.

More information

1LOCAL is currently available for farmers markets, restaurants and retail stores that are PASA business members. More information and registration can be found at pasafarming.org/events.