Date of Graduation

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

Advisor/Mentor

Di Fang

Committee Member

Michael R. Thomsen

Second Committee Member

Rodolfo M. Nayga, Jr.

Keywords

Difference-in-Difference, Double Up Food Bucks, Farmer's Market, Local-Food Systems, SNAP

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable consumption is particularly low in Arkansas with only a small percentage of residents meeting daily recommendations. Arkansas also has one of the highest percentages of food insecurity and obesity in the United States. Low-income households, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, are at a higher risk of these issues. Financial assistance programs have been implemented to help in aiding these problems. The Double Up Food Bucks program (DUFB) is one of these programs. DUFB provides matching financial vouchers for SNAP benefits recipients spend on fresh local produce at participating grocery stores and farmers’ markets. The goal of this program is to help SNAP recipients increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Previous studies have examined DUFB and similar programs; however, few have studied how these programs affect the participating locations. One objective of this study is to analyze the effect DUFB has on produce sales at grocery stores. Objective two is to conduct a simulation of the overall revenue produced by DUFB at farmers’ markets. Store-level sales data was collected at three comparable sized stores with one serving as the treated and the others as controls in February 2016 and 2017. A difference-in-difference (DID) model was utilized to evaluate the effect of DUFB on sales after treatment for selected produce. For objective two, a demand shock caused by DUFB was simulated on various supply systems. DUFB was found to increases sales and quantity at the treated store as well as generate positive revenue in each system. DUFB increased sales for almost each tested produce. DUFB generated on average about $1.66 in revenue for each dollar of funding. Our evaluation indicates that DUFB was successful and can continue to be successful. Additional funding could see increased revenue for participating locations. Policy decisions related to DUFB can be informed with these results. These results may also aid in decisions like DUFB.

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