2015 Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Conference

The RIDGE Program encourages new and innovative research on food assistance and nutrition issues and broadens the participation of social science scholars in this important research area. The annual conference is held to provide a forum for grant recipients and attendees to discuss results of recently funded grants on topics that includes food assistance program participation, food insecurity among vulnerable populations, and community influence on food assistance and dietary choices. RIDGE is administered in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Purdue University.

Location and date:

Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
1307 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
October 8, 2015

2015 Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Conference

8:15 – 8:45: Registration and Refreshments

8:45 – 8:55: Opening remarks

• Alex Majchrowicz, Director, RIDGE Program, ERS
• Speaker, ERS, TBD

Morning session

8:55 – 9:00: Comments from the RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies at the Center for Regional Development

• Lionel J. “Bo” Beaulieu, Director, Purdue University
  

9:00 - 9:30: The Longitudinal Impact of SNAP Enrollment and Spending on Community Health and Well-Being in Rural and Urban Georgia During the Great Recession

• Sarah Shannon, University of Georgia
  
• Jerry Shannon, University of Georgia
• Jung Sun Lee, University of Georgia
  
• Bagwell Adams, University of Georgia

9:30 – 10:00: Unpacking “Rurality”: Evaluating the Impact of Rural Community Characteristics and the Built Environment on SNAP Participation

• Michele Walsh, University of Arizona
• John Daws, University of Arizona
• Kara Haberstock Tanoue, University of Arizona

10:00 – 10:15: Session break

10:15 – 10:20: Comments from the RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Research at the Institute for Research on Poverty

• Judi Bartfeld, Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  

10:20 – 10:50: The Impact of Food Stamps and Cash Welfare on Age at Onset of Adverse Health Conditions: A Latent Variable Approach to Control for Family Background

• John Fitzgerald, Bowdoin College
• Rachel Connelly, Bowdoin College

10:50 – 11:20: Patterns of Food Assistance Program Participation Across Early Childhood and Associations with Child Food Insecurity and Kindergarten Well-Being

• Anna Johnson, Georgetown University

11:20 – 11:50: The Dynamics of Food and Housing Assistance Programs Before and After the Great Recession

• Melissa Wilmarth, University of Alabama
• Martin Seay, Kansas State University
• Robert Nielsen, University of Georgia

11:50 – 1:15: Lunch on your own

Afternoon session

1:15 – 1:45: The Effects of the WIC Food Package Revisions on the Healthfulness of Food Purchases Among WIC Households: Analysis of Grocery Store Scanner Data

• Tatiana Andreyeva, University of Connecticut

1:45 – 2:15: Changes in School Meal Participation: Examination of Rural Disparities

• Lindsey Turner, Boise State University
• Carl Siebert, Boise State University

2:15 – 2:45: Altered Daily Activities and Shame Resulting from Children Experiencing Food Insecurity in Rural South Carolina and Oregon

• Edward Frongillo, University of South Carolina
• Tiara Rosemond, University of South Carolina
• Christine Blake, University of South Carolina
• Jennifer Bernal, Universidad Simón Bolívar
• Elizabeth Adams, Oregon Health and Science University
  
• Elizabeth Massey, Oregon Health and Science University
  

2:45 – 3:00: Session break

3:00 – 3:30: The Food Environment and Health: The Role Farmers’ Markets Can Play

• Anne Roubal, University of Arizona–Tucson

3:30 - 4:00: The Effect of Food Stamps on Children's Health: Evidence from Immigrants' Changing Eligibility

• Chloe East, University of California–Davis

4:00 – 4:15: Closing remarks and adjournment

• David Smallwood, Branch Chief, Food Assistance Branch, ERS