ABSTRACT
Farmers’ markets, food cooperatives, pick-your-own harvesting and other forms of short food-supply chains have a long history in Hungary and, despite their declining share in household food sourcing, they are still regarded as the good old, traditional source of food. Growing demand for local food is fuelled by environmental concerns, explicit patriotic (political) attitudes and state support. Product features like “local”, “regional” or “Hungarian” became values of their own in certain consumer segments. In Hungary, buying local and seasonal food is one of the most popular consumer behavioural forms to combat climate change (Eurobarometer 2014). Responding to open consumer attitudes, some forms of local food systems, like local food markets with strong sustainability missions, artisan food products and regionally labelled food, have been reinvented as well in the past decade. Their revival largely resulted from supportive governmental policies and the availability of public funds for infrastructural development, marketing promotions, and consumer campaigns.
