Eliciting University Students’ Attitudes towards Farmers’ Markets: The Hungarian Case

Abstract

Short food supply chains are increasingly investigated areas of international studies. One of its defining sales channels is the farmers’ market, the number of which has grown substantially in Hungary in recent years. Many studies analyze the consumers of farmers’ markets worldwide, but only a few examine the relationship of university students with farmers’ markets. Although university students are not typical customers of farmers’ markets, it is essential to investigate their habits since they are the consumers of the future. Based on a questionnaire survey among Hungarian university students (n = 262), the price, convenience, selection, and quality aspects of the products dominate. We also identified clusters based on food purchasing criteria: (1) price-sensitive consumers, (2) health-conscious consumers, and (3) brand-loyal consumers. The main obstacle for non-regular buyers is the distance from farmers’ markets, which can be solved by organizing farmers’ markets on university campuses. 95% of the sample is open to this, so it would be worthwhile to conduct independent research for each university and put the positive results into practice.