The Ag of the Middle research coalition began an important discussion of the financial sustainability of redeveloping food systems almost a decade ago. Since then, a myriad of market innovations have emerged within the direct and value food chain segments that they highlighted. Figure 1 furthers their typology and provides a brief summary of unique aspects of the most common models highlighted in recent food system outreach projects, applied research, and government program evaluations and reports. Although there are already a number of directories and frequently updated bibliographies informing food system stakeholders on the diverse set of initiatives emerging, we used this piece to sort food system models according to their core economic competitive advantage with a key focus on enterprise scale and market orientation (direct, intermediated and wholesale), as well as managerial considerations.