Estimating local food capacity in publicly funded institutions

Abstract

This article presents three approaches to estimate the size of the publicly funded institutional marketplace to determine what opportunities exist for local farmers and fishers. First, we found that estimates from national foodservice sales statistics over-estimate local capacity opportunities. Second, analyzing budgets of publicly funded institutions for foodservice expenditures proved more difficult than anticipated. Third, a consumption production model from data provided by the institutions and comparing it to production statistics enabled us to estimate local capacity in publicly funded institutions for specific commodities. The consumption production model provided the most useful estimates for Extension and government decision makers. © by Extension Journal, Inc.