Economics of Food Security
Research to help understand determinants of food insecurity and effectiveness of policies and incentives
Research is needed to understand the impacts of Nutrition Incentive programs on farmers and low-income households.
are struggling with hunger- and of them 155,120 are children.
was distributed through SNAP
of households receiving SNAP benefits have children.
note: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) citation: https://www.
For more than a decade, healthy food incentive programs have increased the purchasing power of low-income families to buy fruits and vegetables. Numerous non-profits and government agencies run these programs in nearly every state of the country. A commonality of these programs is that they provide people enrolled in SNAP with more money to buy produce at grocery stores, corners stores, and farmers’ markets. CSU partnered with the Fair Food Network, SPUR, and ten partner organizations that operate incentive programs to conduct an economic impact assessment. The full report can be found here: https://www.spur.org/publications/spur-report/2021-02-04/economic-contributions-expanding-healthy-food-incentives
Food Environment: Understand changes to the food environment and the impact on food security and dietary quality
Over the past 8 years, Denver has gained more than 100,000 people. This increase in population has not only changed the face of the city’s demographics, infrastructure, and culture, but also the food environment.
The Double Up Food Bucks program doubles the value of SNAP benefits spent at participating markets and food retail stores, helping people bring home more healthy fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers. The purported wins are three-fold: more families have access to fruits and vegetables, local farmers gain new customers, and more food dollars stay in the local economy. CSU researchers are partnering with Nourish Colorado to evaluate the impacts of the Double Up Food Buck program on farmers and ranchers, households, and economies.