“What Food Cocerns Do People in Lexington Have?”  Over the two weekends in October 2008, 15 students in SOC517: Rural Sociology carried out the survey of shoppers at 5 food retailers who gratiously agreed to participate in the study, including: 

·         Good Foods Market & Cafe

·         Lexington Farmers Market – Downtown Saturday Market

·         Lexington Farmers Market – Southland Dr. Sunday Market

·         Wal-Mart Supercenter on Nicholasville Rd.

·         Wal-Mart Supercenter on New Circle Dr.

 Where Do People Shop in Lexington? (N=332)

In this survey, we asked four questions:

·         Who is concerned about what food-related issues?

·         What do Lexington residents believe makes a “good” food system?

·         What do they see as challenges in addressing their concerns about food?

·         What do they suggest as possible solutions for creating what they consider to be a good food system in Lexington?

In Lexington, Wal-Mart and Kroger are by far popular retail outlets for grocery shopping.  Shoppers seem to shop at specific locations for specific reasons as shown in the table below. While people shop at the Lexington Farmers Market and Good Foods for “quality” and “variety/selection,” Wal-Mart shoppers choose to shop there for “affordability” and “convenience.” It was not surprising to learn that Wal-Mart shoppers and Good Foods/Farmers Market shoppers differ in their food concerns. 

Why Do People Shop at ‘Their’ Store¹?

Note: 1. Multiple answers were allowed by each subject. 2. Many answered “supporting local farmers/farming/economy” as a reason.

What Concerns Do People Have? (N=332)

What Is People’s Greatest Concerns? (By Location) 

When we asked how satisfied they are with U.S. food system, 60 percent responded positively – either somewhat or very satisfied. We also asked our respondents to list what they consider as “good” and “bad” aspects of our food system.

For “good” aspects, people listed:

·         Abundance

·         Availability

·         Accessibility

·         Affordability

·         Convenience

·         Variety and selection

·         Regulations and quality control

For “bad” aspects, they listed:

·         Lack of locally produced food

·         Too much (unhealthy) chemicals, unsafe food

·         Lack of transparency in food production, distribution, and regulation

·         Lack of food knowledge

Their responses to the question, “What local actions are needed?”, can be categorized into five categories.

·         Greater access to local foods

·         Enhanced Farmer’s Market

·         Improved education

·         Better policy

·         Stronger community

Our survey results strongly suggest that many people in Lexington are very much concerned about a wide range of food issues.  More importantly, regardless of where they shop, many people in Lexington want to see more local food being sold at grocery stores and restaurants.

Summaries of Survey Findings

·         Preliminary Results of the Food Concern Survey in Lexington (October 2008)

·         “Lexington Community Food Assessment 2008: Consumer Survey Results” Presented by SOC517 Students on November 2, 2008

Media Reports about the Survey

·         ACE Weekly

·         UK agNews (November 14, 2008)

·         USagnet (November 14, 2008)

·         UK Extension Network (November 19, 2008)

·         Cattle Network News (November 19, 2008)

·         Lexington Herald-Leader (November 20, 2008)

·         Business Lexington (November 26, 2008)

·         91.3 FM WKMS In-Depth Report (November 27, 2008)

·         91.3 FM WUKY Dr. Greg Davis On Medicine (December 2, 2008)