Progress 02/15/11 to 02/14/14
Outputs
Target Audience: This research project focused on small farms in the "upstate" region of South Carolina. It drew lessons from a pilot study recently completed in the "low country" region of South Carolina that examined some of these issues for a small sample of limited resource farmers in Beaufort County. Small and medium sized farms in the upstate region with less than $100,000 in annual sales were be identified by county extension agents in each of the upstate counties. In addition, the directors of each of the three food banks serving the upstate region were identified and one director was selected to participate in the project. Promoting the development of local networks among small farms and farm banks is aimed to provide added potential income to small and medium size farms in the region, potential "marketing income" to the food banks, and a steady supply of food products needed by local food banks. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Participation in the following seminar was intended to inform and introduce the non-academic audience to a variety of strategies and approaches being undertaken by local and regional food systems across the country. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Strategies to Address Food Access in Local Food Systems," Annual Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) Sustainable Agriculture Conference Greenville, SC, November 10 - 12, 2014. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms," Presentation at the Small Farms Lunch Meeting, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Greenville, SC, August 26, 2014. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Food Deserts in the Agricultural Black Belt South," Faculty-Respondent Presentation, Public Health Ethics Course, Tuskegee University, AL, April 1-4, 2014. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The following papers and presentations have enabled our team to disseminate our results to various communities of interest. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Strategies to Address Food Access in Local Food Systems," Annual Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) Sustainable Agriculture Conference Greenville, SC, November 10 - 12, 2014. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms," Presentation at the Small Farms Lunch Meeting, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Greenville, SC, August 26, 2014. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Food Deserts in the Agricultural Black Belt South," Faculty-Respondent Presentation, Public Health Ethics Course, Tuskegee University, AL, April 1-4, 2014. Young, E. 2012. "Finding Upstate South Carolina's Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Local Food with a Price Premium Donation to Local Food Banks." Unpublished M.S. thesis. Department of Economics. Clemson University. http://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1537 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? This project ended 2/14/2015. We gained valuable insight on useful strategies to enhance the benefits of local food system participation by small farms across SC and contiguous states and learned several lessons to further assist small farmers to overcome the challenges confronting them in terms of the economic viability of small farms across SC and proximate rural communities. However, we recognize the following limitations of our research. Namely, while this research focused on the Upstate of South Carolina, further research could include the entire state and even any state or country. The basis of this study can extend to any state or region with-in them because each have farmers markets, farm products, and food banks. The regions could be expanded to a certain radius in miles from either the primary point of sale locations or the primary growing locations. This would change the definition of "local" to include not just the state the consumer is buying the product from but states that fit within this certain mile radius. The feasibility of this system depends on the participation of food retailers and consumers willingness to donate to local food banks in their area. For example, many farmers from North Carolina may travel to farmers markets in South Carolina and therefore could participate in the program because they consider "over the border" to be "local." Another limitation of our research included giving the survey responders the open-ended question of what their favorite/most commonly purchased agricultural products. This caused many responders to write ambivalent answers or not answer at all, whether from confusion or not being able to accurately decide what they pay on average from the product. In several cases vegetarians and vegans received the animal products survey and were unable to respond to what their favorite animal product is. Future research could explore using a close ended format by giving responders either one product (i.e., a tomato or chicken breast) or choose between several products. In many cases, a concern about the conditional logit model is the assumption of independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) which requires that the probability ratio of respondents choosing between our two alternatives is not strictly contingent upon the attributes of other alternatives. Future research could use for example mixed logit model for estimation purposes. Also, in our sample race was shown to be an insignificant factor for preference's, as only 7.8% of our population was non-white, however, this is not a complete result. With a greater sample size and higher proportions of other races included, this variable may be a larger factor than is represented here. Our sample was also more highly educated than the average population of the upstate and this may have skewed results. The most significant change for future research would therefore include a more diverse sample population that better reflected with the Upstate South Carolina population. Finally, we are now exploring several potential collaborations with colleagues working on local food scholarship and related projects, including Feed & Seed , a USDA Rural Development co-sponsored wholesale/retail commissary designed to provide coordination and activation of the local food marketplace and to serve as the nexus of local-foodmarket-facing interests for the Upstate region of South Carolina; an evaluation of Farm to School programs across selected states (with colleagues at the University of Vermont); and a review of SC-based New & Beginning Farmer Program and statewide farming entrepreneurship activities (with colleagues at the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development, Sandhill Research and Education Center).
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The project goals were twofold: 1) to document the potential for local, non-profit food system intermediaries to enhance the economic sustainability for small and limited resource farms, and 2) to reveal the potential for these local food systems to increase incomes in rural communities. To accomplish these goals, we fulfilled the following set of supporting objectives: Objective 1. To properly account for the potential impact of sales to the food bank to the 10 county upstate regional economy, we converted the acreage values into total revenue estimates (i.e., yield times price). Numerous data sources were used to construct our estimate of total revenue on a per acre basis for the 44 out of the 57 crops listed by the farmers. These 44 crops accounted for 97.9% (or 422.3) of the 431.2 total acres. All crops with at least two acres were separately evaluated in this manner (the average revenue across the 44 crops was applied to the remaining 13 crops or 8.9 acres). In general, we first sought out any data collected from South Carolina farms in the recent pass. If such information was not available, we expanded our search to neighboring states. Finally, we relied on national information or even information from more distant states when local or regional information was not forthcoming. Our total estimate of the value of sales to the food bank from the 431.2 acres was $3.475 million. In terms of contribution to this total, strawberries, at $1.391 million account for 40% of the revenue value (by far the largest share) followed by tomatoes at $0.478 million (13.8% of the $3.475 million total), and peaches at $0.409 million (11.8%). These three crops alone accounted for almost two-thirds of our total value estimate. Cantaloupe at $120,732 (3.5% of the $3.475 million), blueberries at $119,701 (3.4%), apples at $117,267, sweet corn at $98,423 (2.8%), muscadine grapes at $97,103, and watermelon at $92,225 (2.7%) were also relatively important in terms of value. Objective 2. We used attribute based methods to estimate how much consumers are willing to pay for the locally grown attribute and the donation attribute above their average expenditures on produce and what other factors influence consumer choice behaviors. The conditional logit model used to analyze consumer responses to choice experiments was estimated using a random sample of households in the upstate South Carolina region. Local product attributes do seem to be valued by consumers, when they are aware that their products are locally grown. We find that consumers are willing to pay about, on average, 18% more for local than for comparable out-of-state products. We also found that consumers are willing to pay 5% more for a product with a donation to the local food bank. This may be explained by 57% of respondents giving a reason why they may not be interested in participating in the program. Several of the highest responses were their previous donation history (already donate to a food bank), general disinterest in paying more to participate in the system, do not want to donate to a food bank at all, or even general misunderstanding of the specifics of how the system would operate. They may be inclined to donate more than 5% if they change their avenue of donating (via the program rather than food or straight monetary donation), gain a greater understanding of what the program has to offer them and their community, gain a more in depth understanding of what food banks are and which ones in their area that would be benefiting from the program, and an understanding of what an impact 5% or more could make for the participating farms and food banks. A socio-economic factor that directly affects expenditures on produce is consumer income. An increasing, positive trend was found between income and willingness to pay for both locally grown and donation aspects indicating that consumers with higher incomes are inclined to pay (slightly) more for these attributes. Females too are (slightly) more likely to purchase products with these characteristics, than men. The results of this study will help the program creators understand how to market these products effectively, how to price them efficiently, and what types of consumers are the best to target. Objective 3. This research evaluated the impact of potential sales to area food banks by local farmers on the 10-county regional economy of Upstate South Carolina. Local farmers indicated a willingness to produce on 431.2 acres across 57 different fruits and vegetables. In terms of acres, peaches, tomatoes, strawberries and apples were the most cited crops. Converting the 57 groups into value terms, strawberries, tomatoes, and peaches were most dominant. The total value of production across the 431.2 acres was estimated to be $3.475 million. A slight (3.1% markup or $116,860 and $94,591 after accounting for leakages) food bank marketing margin was calculated and included in the economic impact analysis. The total direct spending impact was multiplied through a 47 industry sector SAM-based multiplier matrix of the ten county upstate economy. The resulting total economic impact was $5.003 million with one dollar in direct sales lead to $1.40 in total economic activity. The sales of $3.569 million also generated $1.476 million in earned income, $2.272 million in gross regional product, and 10.6 full-time equivalent jobs. Impacts were concentrated in Small Farms and Medium size Farms and in agricultural service providers especially in Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry. The analysis indicates that food banks are an unexplored but potential market for locally produced fruits and vegetables. The market holds potential for generating a small level of growth in the Upstate economy. Of course, a larger level of sales to food banks would have a greater economic impact. As such markets develop it may be possible for more pronounced effects to occur in terms of overall regional economic growth.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Robinson, K. L. 2015. Food Deserts in Upstate South Carolina: How Do We Both Ethically and Sustainably Feed the Regions Food Insecure? Journal of Healthcare, Science and the Humanities 5 (1). Tuskegee, AL: National Center for Bioethics in Research & Health Care.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Willis, D.B., C.E. Carpio, K.A. Boys and E.D. Young. Consumer Willingness to Pay for Locally Grown Produce Designed to Support Local Food Banks and Enhance Locally Grown Producer Markets. Annual Meetings of the American Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Washington DC, August 4-6, 2013.
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Progress 02/15/12 to 02/14/13
Outputs
Target Audience: This research projectfocuses on small farms in the "upstate" region of South Carolina. It will draw lessons from a pilot study recently completed in the "low country" region of South Carolina that examined some of these issues for a small sample of limited resource farmers in Beaufort County. Small and medium sized farms in the upstate region with less than $100,000 in annual sales will be identified by county extension agents in each of the upstate counties. In addition, the directors of each of the three food banks serving the upstate region will be recruited to participate in the project. Promoting the development of local networks among small farms and farm banks is aimed to provide added potential income to small and medium size farms in the region, potential "marketing income" to the food banks, and a steady supply of food products needed by local food banks. Changes/Problems: A one-year, no-cost extension was requested. The reason an extension is necessary is that the project initially started late and the unexpected absence and subsequent passing of co-PI Mark Henry. In addition, the retirement of co-PI Kathleen Robinson and the relocation and transition of several team members from the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences to departments across the College of Business andBehavioral Science delayed the project as well. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Participation in the following seminar was intended to informand introducethe non-academicaudience toa variety of strategies and approaches being undertaken bylocal and regional food systems across the country. Robinson, Kenneth L. Invited Paper Presentation, “Progress and Innovation in Regional Food Systems: Perspectives from SC, VT, and MI” Know Your Farmer - Know Your Food Local/Regional Food Seminar, Interagency Taskforce Meeting, Washington, DC, February 20, 2013. This presentation was designed to appeal to a broad audience, including "the KYF2 crowd" which according to the meeting organizer"...is largely not researchers with advanced degrees and some of them have more narrow interests, e.g., they might just be interested in farm to school. By featuring several speakers, we suggest you omit the technical matter and we are likely to appeal to most in USDA’s KYF2 community." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The following papers and presentations have enabled our team to disseminate our results to various communities of interest. Young, Emily. 2012. "Finding Upstate South Carolina's Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Local Food with a Price Premium Donation to Local Food Banks."Unpublished thesis. Clemson, SC: Clemson University Graduate School. Robinson, Kenneth L., “Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms,” AFRI Project Directors Meeting Prosperity for Small and Medium-Sized Farms and Rural Communities Programs, Washington, DC, February 21-22, 2013. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Paper Presentation, ““Progress and Innovation in Regional Food Systems: Perspectives from SC, VT, and MI,” Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) Interagency Taskforce Meeting, Washington, DC, February 20, 2013. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Paper Presentation, “An Examination of the Prospect of Linking Small Farmers with Food Banks and other New Markets,” Southern Rural Sociological Association, Orlando, FL, February 4, 2013. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, “Using Local Foods Banks to Improve Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms,” Clemson Local/Regional Food Systems Development Summit, Clemson University Outdoor Lab, March 9, 2012. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Paper Presentation, “Healthy Living: Implications of access to locally grown foods in the Lowcountry,” Southern Rural Sociological Association, Birmingham, AL, February 6, 2012. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to continue analyzing the farmer survey, and to update the consumer analysis. Additional plans include making arrangements for food bank directors andthose farmers recruited to supply the food banks to meet. Those farmers whoagree to allocate production at wholesale prices while sharing with the food banks any locally grown price premiums gained from sales to retail outlets willprovide added potential income to small and medium size farms in the region, potential “marketing income” to the food banks, and a steady supply of food products needed by local food banks. Finally, using IMPLAN models for each of the upstate SC counties the impacts of the Food Bank activities, added farm income for small farms and smaller “leakages” from communities in the region will be compared with those of the mainstream marketing channels for local produce.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A change in knowledge resulted fromour preliminary findings, including: Upstate food banks purchase very little produce. In 2010, approximately 10 million pounds of produce circulated from three food banks serving the Upstate. The region's main food bank does not to sell produce and fruit; they give it away. No Upstate farmers currently donate or sell produce to food bank currently; only farmers located elsewhere. Room for linkage exists. For example, there is potential for local farmers to sell produce through the processors and wholesalers affiliated with the food bank system. The project team is currently seeking to find out what the lowest price is that farmers will require for their produce and fruit. One food bank has indicated a willingness to explore the possibility of a separate enterprise (501c3) to sell farmer produce as there is a demand for produce from affiliating agencies. There is potential and willingness for our partner food bank (HHFB) to distribute produce to all food banks in S.C. and to major farmers' markets across the state/region. Moreover, much of our work to date has focused on better understandinghow to establish the price premium attainable for locally grown and distributed farm products (commodities) in South Carolina. The following suggestions are based on findings from boththe consumer and farmer survey: Consumers willing to pay 18% more for locally grown products and 5% more for products including a donation; WTP for fruits and vegetables was nearly 23%, and for animal products nearly 15%; 80% of farmer respondents currently donate product to emergency relief services, food banks, or similar organizations; Nearly 55% percent farmer respondents say “maybe” willing to dedicate a portion of their crops' harvest for sale to food banks, depending on price; 90% farmer respondents say willing to attend a meeting with other farmers to discuss the possibilities of opening new local markets; and Farmer responses suggest differences between Lowcountry and Upstate conditions. Specifically, an increasing, positive trend was found between income and willingness to pay for both locally grown and donation aspects indicating that consumers with higher incomes are inclined to pay (slightly) more for these attributes. Females too are (slightly) more likely to purchase products with these characteristics, than men. The results of this study will help the program creators understand how to market these products effectively, how to price them efficiently, and what types of consumers are the best to target.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Young, Emily. 2012. "Finding Upstate South Carolina's Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Local Food with a Price Premium Donation to Local Food Banks." Unpublished thesis. Clemson, SC: Clemson University Graduate School.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Paper Presentation, An Examination of the Prospect of Linking Small Farmers with Food Banks and other New Markets, Southern Rural Sociological Association, Orlando, FL, February 4, 2013.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Robinson, Kathleen K. 2011. The Potential of Food Banks as a Direct Market for Upstate Small-scale Farm Produce. Unpublished project report.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Robinson, Kenneth L. Invited Paper Presentation, Progress and Innovation in Regional Food Systems: Perspectives from SC, VT, and MI Know Your Farmer - Know Your Food Local/Regional Food Seminar, Interagency Taskforce Meeting, Washington, DC, February 20, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Robinson, Kenneth L., Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms, AFRI Project Director Meeting Prosperity for Small and Medium-Sized Farms and Rural Communities Programs, Washington, DC, February 21-22, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Robinson, Kenneth L., Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms, Clemson Local/Regional Food System Development Summit, March 9, 2012.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Paper Presentation, Healthy Living: Implications of access to locally grown foods in the Lowcountry, Southern Rural Sociological Association, Birmingham, AL, February 6, 2012.
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Progress 02/15/11 to 02/14/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs include surveys and conference presentations: Demand Side Consumer Survey -- Current and desired demand for locally grown products by local residents will be estimated using the results of a consumer telephone survey (10-20 minutes) with randomly selected adults 18 years and older who purchase food for their household in all upstate counties. The survey will include questions about current expenditures on produce as well as questions regarding contingent valuation willingness to pay for upstate SC locally grown products. Questions on the awareness and identifiability of locally grown products and where to purchase it will also be asked. Selected demographic information including age, income level, educational level, gender, and race will be collected. Supply side farmer survey -- Small and medium sized farms in the upstate region with less than $100,000 in annual sales will be identified by county extension agents in each of the upstate counties. To analyze the current potential supply of locally grown products, all small and medium sized farmers in the upstate will be surveyed pre-intervention and in year two. Questions will include what production methods are used; where they sell their products; how they promote their products; how many acres of land they have in production; challenges they have in affiliating with brokers and direct markets; and the challenges they face in marketing their products. Farmers will be recruited from this pool to participate in the project using the incentives deployed in the LCFB project. These incentives include the food bank marketing services for their produce (or some portion of their production) - transportation, storage and marketing to local retail outlets. To elicit likely supply responses to farm price increases for produce and meat products marketed through the food banks, farmers in this pool will be surveyed to estimate the likely change in plantings or livestock production as farm prices for local products change. Robinson, Kenneth L., Invited Presentation, "Using Local Foods Banks to Improve Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms," Clemson Local/Regional Food Systems Development Summit, March 9, 2012; Invited Paper Presentation, "Healthy Living: Implications of access to locally grown foods in the Lowcountry," Southern Rural Sociological Association, Birmingham, AL, February 6, 2012; Presentation at the Prosperity for Small and Medium-Sized Farms and Rural Communities Programs Project Directors MeetingInvited Paper Presentation, "Using Local Food Banks to Promote Sustainability of Small and Limited Resource Farms," Miami, FL, November 7-9, 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Chris Daly, Chief Operating Officer Harvest Hope Food Bank PO Box 451 Columbia, SC 29202 Desk: 803-254-4432 x1123 Cell: 803-513-3977 Fax: 803-254-6011 www.harvesthope.org Scot Stephens, Regional Officer Harvest Hope Food Bank 2818 White Horse Rd Greenville, SC 29611 864-281-3995 (ext 3107) SStephens@harvesthope.org Clifton Lee, Upstate Distribution Center Manager Golden Harvest Food Bank Upstate Distribution Center 7931 Moorefield Memorial Highway Liberty, SC 29657 clee@goldenharvest.org 864.843.6161, ext. 10 Marcus Morris, Distribution Coordinator Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina 500-B Spratt Street Charlotte, NC 28206 Phone: (704)376-1785 Fax (704)342-1601 Andy Rollins, Clemson Extension Service Commercial Fruit & Vegetable Agent 612 Chesnee Highway Spartanburg, SC 29303 (864) 596-2993 ext. 115 TARGET AUDIENCES: This research project will focus on small farms in the "upstate" region of South Carolina. It will draw lessons from a pilot study recently completed in the "low country" region of South Carolina that examined some of these issues for a small sample of limited resource farmers in Beaufort County. Small and medium sized farms in the upstate region with less than $100,000 in annual sales will be identified by county extension agents in each of the upstate counties. In addition, the directors of each of the three food banks serving the upstate region will be recruited to participate in the project. Promoting the development of local networks among small farms and farm banks is aimed to provide added potential income to small and medium size farms in the region, potential "marketing income" to the food banks, and a steady supply of food products needed by local food banks. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Change in knowledge includes our preliminary findings: Upstate food banks purchase very little produce. In 2010, approximately 10 million pounds of produce circulated from three food banks serving the Upstate. The region's main food bank does not to sell produce and fruit; they give it away. No Upstate farmers currently donate or sell produce to food bank currently; only farmers located elsewhere. Room for linkage exists. For example, there is potential for local farmers to sell produce through the processors and wholesalers affiliated with the food bank system. The project team is currently seeking to find out what the lowest price is that farmers will require for their produce and fruit. One food bank has indicated a willingness to explore the possibility of a separate enterprise (501c3) to sell farmer produce as there is a demand for produce from affiliating agencies. There is potential and willingness for our partner food bank (HHFB) to distribute produce to all food banks in S.C. and to major farmers' markets across the state/region.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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