Food Systems, Nutrition Security, and Agriculture

Economic shocks, food insufficiency and mental health: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Millions of Americans experienced a sudden loss of income along with hunger early in the COVID-19 outbreak. Using Household Pulse Survey data from April 23, 2020 to March 29, 2021, the authors found that the pandemic significantly impacted both food sufficiency and mental health, with food insufficiency having a larger negative impact on mental health than income loss.

Authors: Yuxuan Pan, Linlin Fan, Stephan Goetz

Publication: Plos ONE Date Published: March 12, 2026

Tags: COVID-19, food security, mental health

Insights on Agritourism Among Producers in Western U.S. States: Evidence from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey

This report presents findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey. A total of 136 survey participants identified themselves as being in a Western region states by reporting the postal (ZIP) code of their farm. (To access the national-level findings, visit this page.) This survey is part of a larger project aimed at defining and enhancing the agritourism support system in the United States.

Authors: Jason Entsminger, Claudia Schmidt, Sarah Cornelisse, and Jackie Schweichler

Publication: NERCRD Research Brief Date Published: June 3, 2025

Tags: agritourism, agritourism data brief, data brief

Insights on Agritourism Among Maine Producers: Evidence from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey

This report presents Maine-specific findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey, conducted in part to address the type of knowledge gaps just identified. The online survey was open from March through August 2024, and 2,139 agritourism operators across the United States responded. A total of 94 survey participants identified themselves as being in Maine by reporting the postal (ZIP) code of their farm.

Authors: Jason Entsminger (University of Maine); Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD); Sarah Cornelisse and Jackie Schweichler (Penn State)

Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: May 2, 2025

Tags: agritourism, agritourism data brief, data brief, survey

Insights on Agritourism Among US Producers: Evidence from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey 

This report presents findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey. This survey is part of a larger project aimed at defining and enhancing the agritourism support system in the United States. The primary objective of conducting this survey was to identify areas where targeted interventions and programs can support agritourism development across the country.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD), Jason Entsminger (University of Maine), Sarah Cornelisse and Jackie Schweichler (Penn State)

Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: April 21, 2025

Tags: agritourism, agritourism data brief, data brief, survey

Determining the optimal food hub location in the fresh produce supply chain

Abstract

Purpose: Using recent US regional data associated with food system operations, this study aims at building optimization and econometric models to incorporate varying influential factors on food hub location decisions and generate effective facility location solutions.

Design/methodology/approach: Mathematical optimization and econometric models have been commonly used to identify hub location decisions, and each is associated with specific strengths to handle uncertainty. This paper develops an optimization model and a hurdle model of the US fresh produce sector to compare the hub location solutions between these two modeling approaches.

Findings: Econometric modeling and mathematical optimization are complementary approaches. While there is a divergence between the results of the optimization model and the econometric model, the optimization solution is largely confirmed by the econometric solution. A combination of the results of the two models might lead to improved decision-making.

Practical implications: This study suggests a future direction in which model development can move forward, for example, to explore and expose how to make the existing modeling techniques easier to use and more accessible to decision-makers.

Social implications: The models and results provide information that is currently limited and is useful to help inform sustainable decisions of various stakeholders interested in the development of regional food systems, regional infrastructure investment and operational strategies for food hubs.

Originality/value: This study sheds light on how the application of complementary modeling approaches improves the effectiveness of facility location solutions. This study offers new perspectives on elaborating key features to encompass facility location issues by applying interdisciplinary approaches.

Authors: Houtian Ge, Jing Yi, Stephan J. Goetz, Rebecca Cleary, Miguel I. Gómez

Publication: Journal of Modelling in Management Date Published: August 13, 2024

Tags: EFSNE, food hub, supply chain

Broadband access and agritourism operations in the United States

Abstract: An online presence is crucial for agritourism operators to connect with consumers. In this study, we use count data regression models to examine the correlation between average broadband speed adopted and the number of agritourism operations. We found that adoption of fast broadband in 2012 was associated with a significantly higher number of agritourism operations nationally in 2017, underscoring the role of broadband connectivity in facilitating interactions between farmers and consumers, as well as in promoting agritourism. However, only a weak association exists in rural counties, indicating that the broadband–agritourism relationship does not extend to less populated areas.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Luyi Han, Arian Moghadam, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Date Published: June 17, 2024

Agritourism and Recreational Services on US Farms: Data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture

A new data brief by Jason S. Entsminger (University of Maine) and Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD) provides a snapshot of the national agritourism landscape and documents recent changes across the industry. The data brief, which was published by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), is available below:

Authors: Jason S. Entsminger and Claudia Schmidt

Publication: NERCRD Data Brief Series Date Published: May 7, 2024

Tags: agritourism, agritourism data brief, data brief

Women farmers and community well-being under modeling uncertainty

This research examines the association between woman farmers and community well-being using U.S. county-level data and finds that a higher share of farms operated or owned by women in a county is associated with higher rates of new business formation, longer life expectancies, and lower poverty rates. Read a related news article here.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Steven C. Deller, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy Date Published: January 16, 2024

Household Hardship and Stimulus Payments during the Pandemic: Differences Across Ethnic Minorities in the United States

This study examines the impact of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Economic Impact Payments (EIP) on alleviating household hardship, primarily food insufficiency and expense difficulty, among ethnic groups in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) from 2020-2022, the study investigates who received the payments and how they used them. The study employs quasi-difference-in-difference models to address the issue of non-repetitive samples in the HPS dataset. The findings suggest that Black, Hispanic, and Other Races individuals reported consistently higher probabilities of food insufficiency and expense difficulty compared to Whites and Asians. The study further reveals that individuals across all ethnic groups reported less food insufficiency or expense difficulty after the distribution of the ARPA EIP in March 2021. In addition, individuals of all ethnic minority groups who used EIP for saving had a larger decrease in the probability of food insufficiency compared with the corresponding change for Whites. The study highlights the importance of targeted stimulus policies to address distinct problems faced by different ethnic minority groups.

Authors: Zheng Tian, Claudia Schmidt, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Presented at 2023 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Meeting Date Published: July 23, 2023

Tags: COVID-19

Impact of Broadband Access on Agritourism Operations in the United States

Agritourism is a growing sector that can provide opportunities for rural entrepreneurs and boost rural development in the US. Online presence is crucial for agritourism operators because they cater to consumers. In this study, we employ count data regression models to investigate the relationship between broadband adoption and the number of agritourism operations. Our analysis shows that access to fast broadband internet in 2012 significantly increased the number of agritourism operations in 2017, underscoring the pivotal role of broadband connectivity in facilitating farmer-consumer interactions.

Authors: Claudia Schmidt, Luyi Han, Arian Khaleghi Moghadam, Stephan J. Goetz

Publication: Presented at 2023 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Meeting Date Published: July 22, 2023

Tags: agritourism, broadband