Large grocery chains currently source their products from a wide geographic area, and many foods travel a long distance to arrive on shelves in Portland. Time-sensitive and frozen and refrigerated foods are especially energy intensive to transport. Locally grown and produced food should be less energy intensive to the extent that much less transportation is needed. The closer to Portland the foods are grown and processed, the more likely it is that there will be direct relationships between producers and sellers, and possibly between producers and consumers. Large chain stores would benefit by becoming more local and less dependent on high-cost shipping methods. Consumers may start to migrate toward smaller-scale local retailers, including farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture, especially for fresh foods such as produce, meat and dairy.

Convenience will be less of a decision factor in shopping decisions, and cost will become more important to more households (this is already the most important concern in low-income households). Many highly processed or imported foods, such as processed meats and frozen foods, will see a decline in sales as they become optional in household food budgets.

Full-service restaurants are typically one of the first businesses affected in times of economic difficulty.[5] Alternatively, there may be an increase in patronage at fast-food restaurants, which provide the most calories at the lowest cost. However, fast-food chains are heavily dependent on the long-haul trucking and refrigeration of foods purchased and processed at regional plants, and the cost advantage may narrow over time.