Food supply chain: A qualitative case study of fresh onions, potatoes and tomatoes logistics in Davidson County

Food supply chain has help businesses move their products or service from point of origin to final consumers more efficiently and effectively. A food supply chain or food system refers to the processes that describe how food from a farm ends up on our tables. The processes include production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal. The main purpose of this study was to examine the vegetable supply chain system from farm to gate in Davidson County using fresh onions, potato and tomatoes supply chain as case study. The study is considered as qualitative single-case study. The US vegetable sector, consist of hundreds of independent markets within the food marketing system. According to the 2012 census of Agriculture, US has a total of 72,045 farms harvesting vegetables with 65,814 farms harvested for fresh market sale. Tennessee has about 1,284 farms harvesting vegetables with 1,279 harvested for fresh market sales. Davidson County has 13 vegetable farms, with all harvested for the fresh market. Onions, tomatoes and potatoes are amongst the most consumed vegetables in Davidson County and the US in general, but the bulk of these vegetables come from hundreds of miles. This thesis aim to look at the effect of food supply chain logistics on the marketing of Onions, Potato and Tomato, factors that determine the price these vegetables are sold in Davidson County. Case study research is concerned with transmitting real world experience rather than advancing standardized decision models