DRAFT 12.08.2014
These common measures were developed for evaluating the impact of Extension programming with specific reference to farmers markets and community gardens.
- Number of jobs created/expanded/retained (farms, market gardens, and food businesses).
- Amount of increased revenue, increased savings, and/or one-time capital purchases through Extension technical assistance and education.
- Dollar value of public return on investment.
- Dollar value of volunteer hours.
- Dollar value of grants and dollars leveraged.
- Dollar value of in-kind contributions.
- Number of collaborators (agencies, external partners, community organizations).
- Increased accessibility of local foods.
- Number of community gardens and retail value of pounds of food produced through community gardens.
- Number of local food outlets.
- Dollar value of food donated to local food banks.
- Money spent on fruits and vegetables from local sources.
- Reduction in health care costs through healthy lifestyles.
- Number of food handlers adopting safer or less risky practices related to food safety.
- Number of participants that increased consumption of locally grown fruits.
- Number of participants that increased consumption of locally grown vegetables.
- Number of participants engaged in physical activity for at least 30 minutes five or more days during most weeks.
Questions/Issues to address in your state:
- Are these currently being collected in your state?
- Is something similar being collected in your state?
- Are you willing to collect these in your state?
- Will this be messy in your state?
- Is this an opportunity to strengthen your impact data?
- If they are being collected, how? By whom?
- Do you have tools to share . . . specifically to collect these data?
- Will this help you tell your story?
Print-ready version: local-foods-common-measures-12-08-2014.pdf