Co-location of foodservice facilities and farms as a determinant of alternative food networks in Slovakia

In recent years, consumers have begun to question the global agri-food system and short food supply chains are becoming increasingly popular.The article aimed to uncover co-location patterns between foodservice facilities and agricultural producers in Slovakia to identify potential for short food supply chains.Additionally, we demonstrated spatial autocorrelation tools by localizing spatial clusters and outliers using the local Moran's index, using multiple spatial weights and spatial levels.The analysis reveals distinct patterns: high-high clusters, indicating areas with high concentrations of both foodservice facilities and farms, are predominantly located in regions with significant agricultural activity, such as central and southern Slovakia.Conversely, lowlow clusters and spatial outliers are observed in major urban centers like Bratislava and Koice and industrial regions in the north.