According to Mintel, more than half of consumers say it's more important to buy local than organic. A family farm advocacy group recently released the "2012 Locavore Index" that pegs Vermont at No. 1, surprisingly well ahead of California, who came in at 41.
While the definition of "local" can vary from state to state and region to region, the two most common standards locavores use are food produced within 100 miles or within the same state that it's consumed.
The results were assembled using federal data to determine the number of farmers markets and community-supported agriculture farms (known as CSAs), where customers pay a lump sum up front and receive weekly deliveries of produce and other foods.
The top five locavore states according to the index are:
| State | Population | Farmers Markets | CSAs |
| Vermont | 621,760 | 99 | 164 |
| Iowa | 3,007,856 | 237 | 487 |
| Montana | 974,989 | 57 | 148 |
| Maine | 1,318,301 | 88 | 159 |
| Hawaii | 1,295,178 | 85 | 135 |
Although locavorism is growing everywhere, the bottom five states are Florida (#50), Arizona, New Jersey, Nevada and Louisiana.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.