Baltimore Ranks As One Of Best Cities For Local Food In U.S.

BALTIMORE, MD — Charm City is well known for its abundance of local restaurants, but a new ranking notes that Baltimore has good access to locally-produced food.

LawnStarter, a lawn care resource, ranked Baltimore second in the U.S. on its Best Cities to Eat Local Food list.

The study evaluated access to different producers such as farm stands, farm markets, bakeries, butcher shops, seafood market and craft breweries. The top 200 U.S. cities were evaluated on 17 metrics related to local food access, convenience and support.

Baltimore's high ranking was helped by its abundance of farmers markets residents can visit. The city supports farmers and locavores through the city’s Homegrown Baltimore initiative.

Residents can explore local options on the Baltimore Foodshed map. Maggie’s Farm is a favorite farm-to-table spot for locals. Another option is Gertrude’s, which serves up a Chesapeake-inspired menu inside the Baltimore Museum of Art.

In the access category, Baltimore was 10th. The study evaluated access based on factors like on farm markets within 50 miles, craft breweries per square mile, number of farm stands, and bakeries per square mile.

The city also ranked No. 2 in the support category, which factored in the number of Slow Food USA local chapters, the presence of a Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapter and agricultural workers per 100,000 residents.

In the convenience category, Baltimore ranked first. The category's factors were urban garden friendliness and local farms offering on-farm pickup and delivery.

Overall, Baltimore ranked just below Portland, Oregon, in first and Alexandria, Virginia, ranked third in second. Portland topped the list due to a high number of you-pick farms, farm stands, on-farm markets and craft breweries per square mile.

See the full ranking of Best Cities to Eat Local Food here.