TODD SCHMIT PROFESSOR


Charles H. Dyson School


of Applied Economics and Management Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Cornell University


Economic impact assessment of public incentives to support farm-to-school purchases Food Policy, 121, November 2023 LINK TO PAPER LINK TO VIDEO PLAYLIST


Co-authors • Todd M. Schmit


Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University


• Shayna Krasnoff, Resonance International Trade and Development • Cheryl B. Bilinski, Cornell Cooperative Extension


Summary Te Farm-to-School (FTS) movement in the United States dates to the late


1990s. Initiated partly as a response to health concerns over the processed foods served to students, this approach also responds to growing interest in local food policies that support multiple objectives: rural economic develop- ment, farm viability, food access and equity, and sustainable food systems, and others. FTS programming has grown significantly in the United States, with the recent Farm-to-School Census reporting over 65% of School Food Au- thorities (SFAs) participated in FTS activities in the 2018/19 school year. FTS projects have been widely supported by policy makers with funding provided at state and federal levels. Still, many of the outcomes of this inflow of policy and funding remain unclear, often due to insufficient data.


With detailed food purchasing data from the second largest school district in New York State (and the largest to qualify for enhanced reimbursement), Schmit et al. estimate the gross and net economic impacts of the policy through a customized input–output model, and they observe clear shifts in food spending categories that suggest changes in what and where foods were purchased. Teir results demonstrate net-positive value-added impacts of the policy even when a negative impact is applied to account for the cost of the policy to taxpayers. For every dollar in gross domestic product lost in the state to support the program, $1.06 of gross domestic product is expected to be added. However, the results are only true to the extent that the increase in local food spending is commensurate with an expansion of the related farm and food product industries to meet that demand.


TO IMPACT CONTENTS


RESEARCH WITH IMPACT: CORNELL SC JOHNSON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS • 2023 EDITION


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