AbstractUsing US county‐level data, we employ a difference‐in‐difference approach to model the effect of direct to consumer local foods activity on local economic performance. We find no evidence that growth in local foods activity is linked to economic performance measured by per capita income and some evidence of a decline in employment. These results casts doubts on the notion that the promotion of local foods can improve the performance of local economies. While the local foods market can present viable business opportunities for some producers, the overall size of the market is too thin to influence overall local economic performance.