The Impact of State Farm to School Procurement Incentives on School Purchasing Decisions

Abstract

BACKGROUND The most recent Farm to School (FTS) Census reported that of the 42% of US schools that participate in FTS, 77% procure food locally. In 2019, Colorado joined many other states in passing legislation that provides per‐meal incentives for purchasing local foods. However, little is known about how these incentives impact procurement decisions of school Food Service Directors (FSDs), and purported benefits of FTS cannot accrue without additional local purchases by school FSDs. METHODS We constructed a unique, primary dataset of fresh fruit and vegetable purchases from 18 months of school invoices in 3 Northern Colorado school districts and parameterized an optimization model that mimics FSD decisions. Subsequently, we simulated how procurement is impacted by local food reimbursements. RESULTS Assuming 2017 and 2018 purchasing behavior, at $0.05 per meal reimbursement, FSDs would increase fresh fruit and vegetable purchasing by 11‐12% in August‐October, but by only 0‐1% in November‐December, likely due to seasonality constraints. CONCLUSIONS While an increase in FTS procurement was expected, the magnitude of the potential increase when aligned with the Colorado growing season is notable. This work underscores that adequately funded reimbursement‐based FTS policies can increase FTS procurement without disrupting normal cost‐minimizing purchasing behavior.

Considering tradeoffs in “local” food policies: examples from school feeding programmes

“…Tradeoffs may result from the fact that locally grown and raised food may be more expensive than nonlocal items ( 12 ). Local supply chains may incur higher transaction costs due to decreased efficiency.…”

Economic impact assessment of public incentives to support farm-to-school food purchases

“…Incentives and policies affecting local food procurement can be viewed as economic development strategies through import substitution and spillover effects that improve access for farmers to new markets aiding in their growth and viability (Becot et al, 2017). Research examining incentives on school purchasing decisions found that even an incentive of $0.05 per meal reimbursement can impact local purchasing decisions (Long et al, 2021), yet the impacts of many public initiatives remain ill-explored, often due to data insufficiency (Jablonski & Schmit, 2015).…”

Aiding farm to school implementation: An assessment of facilitation mechanisms

“…School gardens specifically are associated with improved engagement and academic achievement (Klemmer, Waliczek, and Zajicek 2005;Smith and Motsenbecker 2005;Berezowitz, Bontrager Yoder, and Schoeller 2015). On a community level, farm to school programs can positively impact the local economy (Tuck et al 2010;Kane et al 2011;Bauman and Thilmany McFadden 2017), lead to increased employment (Kluson, 2012;Pesch and Bhattacharyya 2014;Holland et al 2015;Roche et al 2016;Christensen, Jablonski, and O'Hara 2017) and provide revenue streams for individual farmers (Izumi, Wright, and Hamm 2010;Long et al 2021).…”