Distribution/Transportation Introduction The central Puget Sound region has a transportation network that includes hundreds of miles of roadway, freight rail, three international maritime ports, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and auxiliary infrastructure. Most of this has a direct relation to some aspect of the food system, either from the perspective of goods distribution or consumer access, and it is from these two overarching perspectives that the intersection of transportation and food will be addressed here. Distribution is the movement of food from the point of production to the end consumer and the infrastructure needed to support it. It includes all modes of transportation used to move food, including all of those mentioned above, as well as the warehouses, cold storage, and other related facilities scattered throughout the region that are critical to supporting the distribution of food. While traditionally focused on commercial freight operations, interest in the local food movement has generated a variety of other means of getting food to both market and consumers, and these will also be addressed. As these two varieties of distribution are quite distinct from one another, they will be addressed separately as large- and small-scale distribution. Consumer access, by contrast, focuses on passenger transportation systems and the opportunities (or lack thereof ) that these provide people to obtain fresh, healthy foods. The focus of this analysis is therefore finer in scale, often considering the presence of food retail outlets and transit service within walking distance of residences. Equity is an underlying concern for such an analysis. In addition to large- and small-scale distribution and consumer access, emergency food system distribution and regional resilience will also be addressed. The former addresses food banks and other charitable food services, while the latter considers the capacity of the region to overcome potential crisis situations like natural disasters and oil shocks.
Methodologies Information on transportation and distribution systems was collected through review of relevant literature, interviews and presentations with actors in the food system, and Geographic Information System (GIS) data analysis. Most of the interviews are confidential in order to protect the interviewees business practices.
Actors The following groups and organizations influence the transportation and distribution of food in the region: • Farmers and ranchers • Fishers • Processors, including meat and dairy processors • Distribution and trucking companies • Sea ports and shipping companies • Airports and airlines • Railroad companies • Supermarkets and other food stores • Restaurants • Consumers • Emergency food providers (distribution, food bank, and meal preparation organizations)
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