Oregon is one of several states to implement a new and innovative minimum wage policy. The Oregon policy defines three regions with each having a separate initial minimum wage and a different set of incremental increases over the next seven years. This paper explores how this policy change may impact...
Over the last two decades, farmers markets have gained prominence based on their contributions to local economies, support of small-scale farmers, and ability to reconnect consumers and producers of food. Farmers markets vary substantially both in the goals they set and the outcomes they achieve. This study examines whether and...
Food hubs are a key solution to advance local and regional food systems by providing aggregation, storage, and distribution services to small and mid-sized farmers and thereby help them to access local and regional markets. By performing these functions, food hubs produce valuable services to not only farmers but to...
This study investigates whether existing interventions in USDA-defined food deserts have been effective in improving access to healthy foods and improving dietary quality. A systematic literature review was conducted using articles from MEDLINE database using “food desert” and “intervention” as search terms. Exclusion and inclusion criteria resulted in selection of...
The Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), piloted in Oregon in 2001, provided $100 worth of vouchers (aka coupons) to low-income seniors to buy fresh local produce from farmers at farmers' markets and roadside stands. Presented in a political ecology framework, this research integrated the perspectives of beneficiaries and their...
Working conditions in the international garment industry have long been a concern and a process to assess and certify fair trade practices was developed as a means by which to improve those conditions. Standards for fair trade apparel include safe working conditions, fair wages, compliance with laws, and reduced environmental...
This research examines how marketing strategies of produce managers affect consumer expenditures for fresh apples and pears. The objective of this study is to determine how display size, point-of-purchase material, product origin, product information and display placement impact consumer expenditures for fresh apples and pears. These variables were incorporated into...
Most farmers’ markets lack information to make effective
changes and improvements. We have designed three
simple, low-cost methods to address the information gaps.
The first two—attendance counts and dot surveys—are
quantitative and can be used independently by markets.
The third method is the more complete Rapid Market
Assessment (RMA), which...
The Oregon Sea Grant Visitor Center at Hatfield Marine Science Center attracts 150,000 visitors a year and does not require an admission fee. Surveying visitors, 39% of all people indicated that half or more of their reason for coming to the Oregon coast was to visit the Visitor Center.
With Animal Welfare issues are becoming more prominent in the animal agriculture community, especially with the passing of California’s Proposition 2 during the November 2008 elections. This proposition, known as the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, mandates that laying hens, pigs and veal calves have the ability to stand...
