South Central Missouri Foodshed Project

Implementing Missouri EATs to Help Build the Missing Middle

Wright + Webster + Texas + Ozark + Laclede + Howell + Douglas

South Central Missouri has substantial existing research describing food access, health, agriculture, demographics, and economic conditions. Rather than duplicate that work, the South Central Missouri Foodshed Project is bringing people together to better understand how food moves through our region: from the people who grow and produce it to the people, businesses, and institutions that buy and eat it.

Using existing evidence as a foundation, we are focusing local engagement on one central question:

How are local food producers currently connecting with local consumers and markets, and what helps or hinders that connection?

Our strategic focus is the missing middle: the relationships, infrastructure, services, systems, and market pathways between local food production and local consumers and markets.

By listening to producers, buyers, community leaders, organizations, and residents across the region, we can identify what already exists, where the gaps are, and where stronger connections or shared resources could create new opportunities for South Central Missouri.