b'point for local food. (At that time, they projected $20 billion in local food sales by 2019.)** On the distribution side of things, home delivery businesses like Blue Apron, Door to Door Organics, Freshly and FreshDirect have proliferated in recent years, reflecting consumer demand for new ways to purchase food. Ubers announcement last month that it plans to acquire the food delivery app Postmates for $2.65 billion underscores the ferment that is going on in this sector. At Fresh-Direct, the companys website states, we believe that food is better when it comes from nearby and has deep relationships with many local farmers and producers. Discover a wide range of local produce thats on par with any farmers market.** More than 200 food hubs around the country, both for-profit and nonprofit, have emerged to create values-driven regional supply chains, connecting small and midsized farmers to wholesale customers. By aggregating product from midsized growers, food hubs enable these farmers to serve retail chains, at the same time differentiating their produce, states Michael Rozyne, founder of Red Tomato. And Liza Marron, executive director of Valley Roots in Colorados San Luis Valley, observes, In Southern Colorado, communities are looking more to their local foodshed for suste-nance. Our hub meets that demand with access to nutrient dense local food from 65+ family farms.** The number of farmers markets has exploded over the past few decades, from 2000 in 1994 to over 8,600 in 2019, although, as would be expected from such rapid growth, there is lots of settling out going on. Farmers markets are challenged, now, because theyve grown faster than the ability of farmers to supply them. 3355'