ALTERNATIVE FOOD NETWORKS (AFNS) HAVE BEEN CREATED BY FARMERS AND ALLIES TO BROADEN CUSTOMER BASES, ENHANCE YEAR-ROUND PROFIT, AND GENERATE CULTURAL SUPPORT FOR FARMS. AFNS ARE RELATIONSHIP-BASED MARKET MODELS ROOTED IN VALUES SUCH AS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARMS HAVE HIGHER SURVIVAL RATES WHEN THEY MARKET DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS--A CENTRAL FEATURE OF AFNS. HOWEVER, AFNS HAVE STRUGGLED TO REACH BEYOND A SMALL NICHE OF COMMITTED, MOSTLY PRIVILEGED, CONSUMERS, LEAVING OUT MANY SEGMENTS OF THE BROADER POPULATION. WE ARGUE THAT THE ROLE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IS A CRITICAL BUT UNDER-EXAMINED BARRIER TO INCREASING CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN AFNS. THIS PROJECT WILL MOVE BEYOND EXISTING STUDIES THAT FOCUS ON CURRENT AFN PARTICIPANTS TO EXAMINING THE PERSPECTIVES OF A WIDER POPULATION OF CONSUMERS WHO COMPRISE UNTAPPED MARKETS. INFORMED BY INTERACTIONS WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, THE PROJECT WILL TEST EMERGING THEORIES THAT SPECIFY THE ROLE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN SHAPING NEW ENGLAND CONSUMERS' ENGAGEMENT WITH AFNS VIA AN INNOVATIVE POPULATION-BASED SURVEY EXPERIMENT, A CONSUMER SURVEY, AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS. THE FINDINGS WILL HELP US IDENTIFY MORE INCLUSIVE MARKETING MESSAGES AND APPROACHES THAT SPEAK TO UNDERSERVED CONSUMER GROUPS. WE WILL GENERATE ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS TO EXPAND AFN MARKET REACH, AND SHARE WITH FARMERS, STAKEHOLDERS, AND RESEARCHERS IN A VARIETY OF PRODUCTS AND OUTLETS. ULTIMATELY, NEW SEGMENTS OF PREVIOUSLY UNDERREPRESENTED NEW ENGLAND CONSUMERS WILL BECOME ENGAGED IN ALTERNATIVE FOOD NETWORKS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THE VIABILITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARMS IN NEW ENGLAND. FARMERS WILL REPORT INCREASED MARKET ACCESS AND EXPANDED AFNS TO SUPPORT INCREASED FOOD PRODUCTION AND FARM INCOME, ENHANCING THE ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF FOOD SYSTEMS IN NEW ENGLAND.