Month: October 2022

Farm to Institution

Farm to Institute Cover

UConn Undergraduates Hannah Colonies-Kelley and Matt Chen, with ARE Assistant Professor Cristina Connolly, present their findings on UConn’s procurement practices in the report, "Farm to Institution: Highlighting Local Food Procurement at the University of Connecticut". 

Here are some highlights of their findings: 

  • Pre-Covid, nearly 40% of UConn’s food was locally procured. 
  • While students expressed a desire for locally procured products, over 60% were unwilling to pay a premium (defined as a price increase in the meal plan). 
  • Most students are not aware of UConn Dining’s sustainability practices, suggesting a need for improved marketing. 
  • Only 12% of food insecure students were aware of the ability to request dining
    “swipes”. 

You can read their full report on the Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy Outreach Reports Page

Best Paper Award by AAEA

Dr. Xi He

Dr. Xi He, now an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Dr. Rigoberto Lopez have been awarded "BEST PAPER" by the Food Safety and Nutrition Section of AAEA.

The citation:   He, X., R.A. Lopez, and R. Boehm. 2020. “The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Non-Alcoholic Beverage Choices by Low-Income Households.” Health Economics, 29(11): 1327-1342. November.  

Dr. He completed her PhD in 2019 in the Department of Agricultural Economics at UConn under the supervision of Dr. Rigoberto Lopez.

Congratulations!