Food Systems, Nutrition Security, and Agriculture

Data Report: U.S. Household Food Insufficiency Falls Below Pre-Pandemic Level

NERCRD COVID-19 Data Report 21-02: This data brief was released in September 2021, and focuses on U.S. food insufficiency rates at that time, relative to food insufficiency rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. food insufficiency rates have fallen to levels below those in the year prior to the pandemic.

Authors: Stephan J. Goetz, Yuxuan Pan, Jason Entsminger, Zheng Tian

Publication: NERCRD, Penn State University Date Published: September 8, 2021

Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Data Brief

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Female farmers in the United States: Research needs and policy questions

The literature on women in agricultural production in developing countries is vast. While female farmers in the United States have recently received more attention, their general characteristics and practices pursued have not received as much consideration by agricultural economists. Here we examine U.S. female farmers’ characteristics and factors associated with county level female farm shares using Census data. We find that these shares are higher near metropolitan core counties and that their presence is associated with agritourism activity as well as horticultural and small livestock production. We conclude with several policy questions and future research needed to assess the roles and impacts of female farm operators in the U.S.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Stephan J. Goetz, Zheng Tian

Publication: Science Direct Date Published: May 1, 2021

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Data Brief: Pennsylvania Food Insufficiency Reached New High at the End of 2020

NERCRD Covid-19 Data Report 21-01: The share of Pennsylvania households in which hunger is a problem has increased to the highest rate since the data were first collected at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, the share of adults in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last seven days reached a new high of 12.7% on December 19, 2020, just slightly below the national rate on that day (12.9%). In this report we also show how families have adapted to this crisis by accessing free food and how households with different incomes have been affected by rising food insecurity.

Authors: Stephan J. Goetz; Zheng Tian; Claudia Schmidt; Yuxuan Pan

Publication: NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief Series Date Published: February 12, 2021

Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Data Brief

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If You Build Them… Will it Matter? Food Stores’ Presence and Perceived Barriers to Purchasing Healthy Foods in the Northeastern U.S.

Policies incentivizing store entry or store improvements are aimed at increasing access to healthy foods; however, findings about their effectiveness to improve diets are mixed. Similarly, little is known about whether food stores’ presence affects consumers’ perceived barriers to purchasing healthy foods, which reflect the subjective hardships experienced by shoppers to purchase and consume healthier foods. In this study, we assess the relationship between the two most widely studied perceived barriers to purchasing healthy foods (price and availability) and the local retail food environment using individual-level survey data collected across the northeastern US and census data on the numbers of grocery stores and warehouse clubs and supercenters. Our results indicate that unobserved heterogeneity plays an important role in determining the sign and magnitude of the relationship between store presence and perceptions. The likelihood that an individual cites price or availability as a perceived barrier depends upon the barrier considered, whether respondents live in the zip code where they shop, and the method of controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Thus, policies focusing on improving access to a given store type may only mitigate some of the negative perceptions associated with one’s food environment.

Authors: Lauren Chenarides, Alessandro Bonanno, Anne Palmer

Publication: Applied Economics Perspective and Policy Date Published: October 12, 2020

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Google Searches Reveal Changing Consumer Food Sourcing in the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this commentary published in 2021, we examine how consumer interest changed since the advent of the pandemic, by observing Google search trends.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Stephan J. Goetz, Sarah Rocker, Zheng Tian

Publication: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Date Published: May 21, 2020

Tags: COVID-19

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Americans’ Food Spending Patterns Explain Devastating Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service’s Food Expenditures by Outlet data provide insight as to why the lockdowns related to COVID-19 have been so devastating for U.S. farmers.

Authors: Stephan J. Goetz, Claudia Schmidt, Lisa Chase, Jane Kolodinsky

Publication: Journal of Food Systems, Agriculture, and Community Development Date Published: May 21, 2020

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In the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Industry, Market Workers and Local Specialized Freight Truckers May be at Greatest Risk

NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief No. 2020-10: This data brief was released during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined data relating to the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Industry during that time.

Authors: Stephan J. Goetz, Devon Meadowcroft, Claudia Schmidt, Prasanjit Mitra and Francesco Di Gioia

Publication: NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief Series Date Published: May 12, 2020

Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Data Brief

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Brief: Google Searches Reveal Changing Consumer Food Sourcing in the COVID-19 Pandemic

NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief No. 2020-7. This brief was also published as a commentary in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Stephan J. Goetz, Sarah J. Rocker, Zheng Tian

Publication: NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief Series Date Published: May 4, 2020

Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Data Brief

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Brief: Americans’ Food Spending Patterns Explain Devastating Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Agriculture

NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief No. 2020-9. This brief is also published as a commentary in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development.

Authors: Stephan J. Goetz, Claudia Schmidt, Lisa Chase and Jane Kolodinsky

Publication: NERCRD COVID-19 Issues Brief Series Date Published: May 1, 2020

Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Data Brief

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Small and Minority Farmers’ Knowledge and Resource Sharing Networks, and Farm Sales: Findings from Communities in Tennessee, Maryland, and Delaware

A network analysis can quantify the depth and breadth of a farmer’s relationships with other local farmers, buyers and sellers, or other groups and organizations. Such an analysis can potentially also reveal farmers’ incentives, situations, and behaviors, and it may explain their economic success more generally. This study examines small and minority farmers’ networks using a primary survey in three farming communities. We emphasize networks related to production, marketing, and resource-sharing activities of 127 farmers (nodes) in Tennessee, 46 in Maryland, and 23 in Delaware, and compute three different measures of network importance or “centrality” for each farmer. We then use generalized least squares analysis relating farmer’s age, gender, race, educational attainment, labor use on the farm, and farm location to the farmer’s centrality position or importance in the network, defined by number and strength of links or connections. In additional regression analyses, we find significantly positive effects of the centrality position on farm sales of specialty crops: our model predicts that a farmer who adds one additional link or connection can expect a 19% to 25% increase in sales, all else equal. Our results can potentially be used not only to disseminate information more efficiently, but also to identify farm­ers who would benefit the most from more targeted extension services.

Authors: Aditya R. Khanal, Fisseha Tegegne, Stephan J. Goetz, Lan Li, Yicheol Han, Stephan Tubene, Andy Wetherill

Publication: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Date Published: April 17, 2020

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