ROOM AT THE TABLE - Intersight - University at Buffalo

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Local Growing Capacity
From a rudimentary perspective, the effectiveness of
any regional food system can be described as the amount
of food a region—such as Erie County—is capable of
providing for its population. We measure this capability—
or self­reliance—in Erie County by estimating both the
amount of food that can be produced (i.e., the supply) in
Erie County and the food required for consumption by Erie
County residents.
The analysis in this chapter is based on a multi­step
method (including GIS analysis and soil yield analysis) and
multiple data sources (including remote­sensed imagery and
published reports of average annual yields per crop type)
described in detail in Appendix A. Self­reliance in this
report is measured as the proportion of land capacity to grow