["Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Volume 33, Issue 2, Page 2280-2294, March 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis study explores the rhetorical strategies that a new form of organizations, namely farmers markets, use to both delegitimate the distribution practices of large grocery stores and legitimate the sustainability of their alternative food distribution system to their community. Building on a novel framework, the rhetorical strategies of 103 farmers markets that raised funds on Kickstarter in 2022 were examined. Conventional entrepreneurs, those who are more economically oriented, tend to use rhetoric that builds on the industry's existing argument field to convince the community. In contrast, institutional entrepreneurs, those who are more socially oriented, attempt to shift the argument field from economic goals to social goals in order to delegitimate large incumbents and advocate that the role of local food distributors must incorporate social inclusion, economic development of the community, social exchanges between members of the community, well‐being of the community, and community identity.\n"]