Rural Developments, Summer/Fall 2010 • 1

RURAL DEVELOPMENTSResearch news and notes from the Center for Rural Studies, University of Vermont

Vol. 4, No. 2 Summer/Fall 2010

Reaching for the Spires

CRS Completes Ambitious New England Transportation Panel Survey

CRS has successfully completed the data collection phase for the Transportation in Your Life survey. This survey was repeated during each season from spring 2009 to winter 2010 for the research project titled Mobility and Livability: Seasonal and Built Environment Impacts.

The project, funded by the UVM Transportation Research Center, takes a unique look at transportation, quality of life and the climate in northern New England, including the effects of seasonal changes.

More than 700 residents of northern New England responded to the survey in each of the four seasons and are part of the final survey panel. By repeating the survey each season, CRS has built a database to help describe the impact of season on mobility and transportation behavior of the participants. The project also explores links between people’s mobility and their perceptions of livability.

For more information, contact Chip Sawyer, Erin Roche, or Thomas DeSisto.

Continued on Page 4

The University of Vermont identified three Spires of Excellence this year: Food Systems; Neuroscience, Behavior and Health; and Complex Systems. In the announcement, UVM leadership noted “These three Spires epitomize the potential of our small research university across our signature themes of environment, health, liberal education, and public service.”

The Center for Rural Studies is actively engaged in food systems work and is part of the core of UVM’s rigorous scholarship around food, farms, health, and agricultural development. Current CRS projects include community action research with the Intervale Center related to its hybrid community supported agriculture/cooperative “Food Hub” initiative, a Center for Disease Control funded project to evaluate Vermont’s farm to school programs, research to identify niches and criteria to build a certification process for Vermont based agricultural products, and evaluating the impact of educational programming related to meal planning and preparation for individuals with diabetes.

CRS also hosts the Food System Research Collaborative, which recently released its first working paper series “Opportunities for Agriculture.” See page 2 for the request for proposals for the second working paper series and be on the lookout for a new food systems mini-grant program.

Center Director Jane Kolodinsky is also a participating faculty member in a new course offered this fall, University Food Systems Seminar, open to undergraduate and graduate students. The 10-week, one credit seminar brings food system experts from around the country to discuss the state of our current system, problems, benefits, and possible solutions.

Want to know more about food system research going on at UVM?

Check out the Food System Research Collaborative’s research and discussion forum at www.foodsystemresearch.net

Seasonal Impacts on Mobi

lity in 

Northern New England

Dr. Jane Kolodinsky, William Saw

yer, Thomas DeSisto, Erin Roch

e, David Propen

Center for Rural Studies at the 

University of Vermont

uvm.edu/crs

Model

Preliminary Results

Objectives

Acknowledgements

This work is funded by the U

nited States Department 

of Transportation through t

he University of Vermont 

Transportation Research Ce

nter

How does this latent 

demand affect quality of 

life in Northern New 

England?

(Zlomek, 2006)

Transportation Research

 Center

Signature Project #4a

Methods• Survey was co

nducted by telephone an

d 

online 

• Four season panel (Spring

 2009, Summer 

2009, Fall 2009, winter 20

10)

•Residents of Maine, New Ha

mpshire and 

Vermont

Next Steps• Incorporate w

eather data from Northea

st 

Regional Climate Center

•Geocode respondent data

To describe the impact of seas

on on the level of 

both revealed and unserved tra

vel demand using 

activity‐based analysis for rura

l northern 

communities.

To describe the variation of th

is seasonal impact 

on travel demand based on m

easures of rural 

character and the built environ

ment.

Evaluate unserved travel de

mand as a measure 

of livability and quality of life in

 rural northern 

climates.

In addition, this study will a

dvance the methods used to 

evaluate the impact of 

seasonal climate differences 

on demand levels for bicycle 

and pedestrian travel in a 

northern region. (For more i

nformation on this objective

, see Signature Project 4b)

Do “die hards” have less u

nserved

travel demand? 

How does this affect their

 quality 

of life?

Do “fair weather” riders 

experience same quality 

of life 

during winter?

*

**

*

n = 721

n = 717

13% 41%17%

33%

21%

29%

* = SignTest p<.05

*

*

n = 715

* = McNemarTest p<.05

Transdisciplinary Obesity Model Shows Preparing Meals at Home Decreases BMI

Center Director Jane Kolodinsky was hunkered down in her office this summer estimating a transdisciplinary obesity model based on the economic production of health. Linking two nationally representative databases, the American Time Use Survey and the Consumer Expenditure Survey, results indicate that overall lifestyles impact both who is overweight and how overweight they are.

The first analysis, focused on single female headed households ages 31-50 shows that there is a significant cluster of women (30 percent of a nationally based sample) who have lifestyles represented by more than the population average time spent at home in household activities and caring for others (twice as much as the national average, 3 hours), in front of a

2 • Rural Developments, Summer/Fall 2010

The Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont is a nonprofit, fee-for-service research and resource center that works with people and communities to address social, economic, and resource-based challenges.

A part of the University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences since 1978, CRS supports the research and teaching missions of the university through its work in applied research, community outreach, program evaluation, and consulting services. CRS is also the US Census Bureau’s State Data Center for Vermont.

CRS works with nonprofit organizations, small businesses, academics, UVM Extension and other UVM offices, community organizers, health and social service organizations, planners, town governments, and state and federal agencies. The center’s data resources include more than 40 social and economic indicators for every town in Vermont and the Vermont Community Data Bank.

The Center for Rural Studies is fully supported by fees for our services, grants, and generous contributions. Visit us online at www.uvm.edu/crs for more information about our consulting and research services.

About CRS

Rural Developments is published twice a year by the Center for Rural Studies. The newsletter is available

online at www.uvm.edu/crs

To join the CRS listserve, go to http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=rural

Newsletter Editor: Jessica Hyman

RURAL DEVELOPMENTSVol. 4, No. 2, Summer/Fall 2010

Taste of Place: Place-Based Marketing for VTCRS is working with the Vermont Agency

of Agriculture, Food & Markets on its Taste of Place initiative, which seeks to establish a system for identifying and promoting place-based foods.

There are two parts to CRS’s work. The first is a broad market study of consumers in the northeastern United States related to the development of a place-based food labeling system. The survey will be implemented this fall, with results available by Jan. 1, 2011. For more info, contact Thomas Desisto.

The second is a series of working sessions for producers, researchers, and experts. Participants will develop producer-driven recommendations for a place-based marketing system for Vermont products. For more info, contact Jessica Hyman.

CRS to Develop Evaluation Framework for State Programs

The Vermont Department of Health has contracted with the Center for Rural Studies to assess the state’s community-based obesity prevention programs and assist in development of an evaluation framework for those programs. These programs include grants made to communities and community coalitions.

As part of the project, CRS researchers will review evaluation frameworks used in other states and facilitate meetings with current community grantees to document coalition development, project planning, strategy implementation and efforts at project sustainability that they have experienced through the use of the state grant. For more info, contact Erin Roche.

Connecting Classrooms, Cafeterias and Community

CRS is working with Shelburne Farms, Food Works/Two Rivers, NOFA-VT, Green Mountain Farm to School, Upper Valley Farm to School, the Center for Sustainable Agriculture and others to evaluate access, availability and utilization of fruits and vegetables by Vermont schools which have Farm to School programs.

The evaluation is gathering information from Food Service Directors, students and teachers, as well as reviewing menus, recipes, food production reports and purchase records for the 10 schools participating in the project.

The project team will produce a model that relates access and availability of fruits and vegetables to student consumption and attitudes about eating fruits and vegetables. “Connecting Classrooms, Cafeterias and Community: Promising Practices of Farm to School Education” is funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). For more info, contact Erin Roche.

Food Production Education VT Project Evaluation

CRS is working with Friends of Burlington Gardens to evaluate its Food Production Education VT Project. This USDA-funded project will establish a state-wide school community gardening initiative that engages children and youths in growing fresh nutritious produce using land on or adjacent to school campuses.

The project includes a mini-grant program to fund school community gardens and provide school community garden organizers and coordinators with ongoing technical assistance and horticultural support. For more info, contact Jessica Hyman.

New Projects

FSRC Announces Competitive Call for PapersThe Food System Research Collaborative

announces its call for articles related to food systems. The articles can focus on completed research, research in progress, or current issues. This call is open to UVM faculty and staff and the research/writing team must include a community partner.

The working papers are meant to be a “stepping stone” to peer-reviewed publication. Each author is required to submit their paper to an appropriate journal. Authors will receive a stipend of $1,000 upon submission of their final

revised paper to the collaborative and to a peer-reviewed journal.

Abstracts will be accepted until 5 p.m. Oct. 15, 2010 to jhyman@uvm.edu. Notifications will be made by Nov. 1. If selected, authors must provide a full version of the papers with references and appropriate graphics by Jan. 15, 2011. Final revisions for the Working Paper will be due April 1 and journal submissions must be made by June 15.

To read the first round of working papers, visit www.foodsystemresearch.net

Rural Developments, Summer/Fall 2010 • 3

As the Vermont State Data Center, CRS has been contributing to

outreach for the 2010 Census. While not an actual part of the Census Bureau, CRS staff have been answering Vermonter’s questions, broadcasting e-mail alerts and maintaining a 2010 Census presence on the Vermont State Data Center website. CRS also contracted with the Census Bu-reau to perform a special review of Census data being collected in Vermont. This re-view verified that the Census Bureau had the correct geographic locations of hous-ing units and group living situations, so that no households would be missing from the 2010 Census and those counted would be attributed to the correct place.

In February, CRS staff travelled to the Census Bureau headquarters to review 2010 Census housing unit locations ver-

sus Vermont records, primarily E-911. CRS staff found that only one cluster of 30 or more housing units in Vermont were miss-ing from the Census records. In August, CRS staff reviewed group quarters loca-tions, which include prisons, college dorms and nursing homes. Once again, CRS staff found that the Census Bureau records matched Vermont records very well. Only one facility was missing and needed to be corrected, and the rest of the operation was focused on correcting which Census blocks other facilities were located.

All in all, CRS staff believe that there will be fewer geographical errors with Census 2010 data than with 2000. We also believe that our other outreach efforts have made a contribution to a complete and accurate count of Vermont in 2010. For more info, contact Chip Sawyer.

Jane KolodinskyDirector

(802) 656-4616 jane.kolodinsky@uvm.edu

Thomas DesistoProject Specialist

(802) 656-0258 • thomas.desisto@uvm.edu

David DeutlInformation Systems

(802) 656-0226 • david.deutl@uvm.edu

Amanda GoldsteinResearch Specialist

(802) 656-0351 • amanda.goldstein@uvm.edu

Jessica Hyman Research Specialist

(802) 656-9897 • jessica.hyman@uvm.edu

Georgia JeffersBusiness Manager

(802) 656-0150 • georgia.jeffers@uvm.edu

Michael Moser Research Project Specialist

(802) 656-0864 • michael.moser@uvm.edu

Erin RocheResearch Specialist

(802) 656-1936 • erin.roche.1@uvm.edu

Will “Chip” Sawyer Program Manager

(802) 656-0892 • william.sawyer@uvm.edu

Michele Cranwell Schmidt Evaluation Coordinator

(802) 656-0256 • michele.schmidt@uvm.edu

Fred Schmidt Founder & Director Emeritus

(802) 598-3604 • fschmidt@uvm.edu

The Center for Rural Studies206 Morrill Hall

University of VermontBurlington VT 05405

Tel: (802) 656-3021 Fax: (802) 656-1423

E-mail: crs@uvm.edu

Visit us online at www.uvm.edu/crs

Contact UsCRS Completes 2010 Census Review Operation

Established in 1983, Voices for Vermont’s Children (formerly

Vermont Children’s Forum) began as an informal alliance of human service and education advocates concerned about the status of children and youth in Vermont. It has evolved into a statewide membership organization. Part of the advocacy and out-reach that Voices for Vermont’s Children is currently undertaking is to help state the case for increased resources for high qual-ity child care for Vermonters.

During fall 2009, CRS conducted tele-phone surveys of more than 200 house-holds across the state that “…have chil-dren in [their] home that currently or have at any time within the past year required regular child or out-of-school care so that family members could go to work.” Here are some key findings from the study:

• More than 71% of working Vermont-ers have had to take time off from work due to lack of availability of childcare.

• 48% of working Vermonters have ex-perienced difficulty finding childcare that meets their needs.

• More than 37% of working Vermont-ers have experienced difficulty coming up with enough money to make a childcare payment.

• Nearly 73% of working Vermonters agree that their employer provides them enough flexibility to handle family needs.

Additionally, CRS surveyed a small num-ber of Vermont businesses in an effort to

gain a better understanding of the impacts of employee challenges in finding and ac-cessing affordable/accessible childcare. Key findings from this small, unrepresen-tative sample (25 respondent businesses) include:

• 72% of responding businesses have ex-perienced employee absence due to lack of available childcare and 48% report having had employee absences due to lack of af-fordable childcare.

• Respondents estimated that in the past year, the cost to their businesses of employee absenteeism due to lack of af-fordable or available childcare ranged from $100 to $5,000.

• When asked to indicate from a list which solutions their business might con-sider to address employee childcare chal-lenges, 40% selected “Employees flex their schedules to meet childcare needs”, 32% selected “Employees work from home” and 24% selected “On-site childcare” while 8% and 4% selected “Tax incentives for businesses providing partial childcare costs subsidies” and “Government-spon-sored child care,” respectively.

Voices for Vermont’s Children will utilize these data to increase public awareness of the importance of childcare for working families, the economy and child develop-ment and raise awareness among employ-ers about the childcare needs of Vermont’s working families.

For more info, contact Michael Moser.

New Data on Childcare and Working Families

4 • Rural Developments, Summer/Fall 2010

Increasing Farm Income and Local Food Access: A Case Study

Michele Cranwell Schmidt presented a paper at the Northeast Agricultural and Resource Economic Association (NAREA) post-conference workshop in Atlantic City, NJ on June 15. Supported by funds from a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant, Schmidt, together with CRS Director Jane Kolodinsky, Thomas DeSisto, and graduate student Faye Conte, compiled a case study of the Intervale Food Hub project development and preliminary outcomes. The Food Hub uses a hybrid brokerage/community supported agriculture (CSA) business model.

This case study reveals promising strategies and recommendations for other communities to consider when implementing creative approaches to strengthen elements of their food system. Critical components of the project’s success include: use of grant funding and revenue-generating opportunities to cover start-up and overhead costs; relationship building strategies; use of a multi-farm, brokerage model; staff coordination of the business; combined marketing, storage and delivery; real-time and peer-to-peer business assistance to farmers; and a year-round CSA that features weekly workplace delivery and diverse shares.

Director Emeritus ReportCRS Emeritus Director Fred Schmidt

reports an active summer: In mid-August, Fred conducted a workshop on Creative Funding for Rural Transit Systems in Tucson, Arizona with an audience of 80 tribal representatives, rural system operators and state transit officials.

In June in his capacity as a national board member of Community Transportation Association Fred joined staff to assist in facilitating the election of three tribal delegates to CTA’s Association of State Delegate. One of these leaders, Lee Bigwater of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, will be attending the 19th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation to be held in Burlington from Oct. 24 to 27 at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center.

Fred and Chip Sawyer will be presenting a session on using the 2010 census for community transportation planning.

News Flash

Transdisciplinary obesity model Continued from Page 1

Study Finds New Info on Information Sourcing and Environmental Awareness

A survey project for the Voices for the Lake initiative at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center yielded new data about how people get information about their communities and how they use social media.

Voices for the Lake aims to raise awareness and build community around Lake Champlain stewardship. This study contributed to that effort by identifying the ways people are likely to take action to improve water quality, determining how they get information about their communities and use social media, and establishing which outreach methods would be most effective to educate the public about water quality issues and encourage lake stewardship.

The study included a representative telephone poll and an open-response online survey. Below is a sampling of results related to information sourcing. The full report is available at the CRS website.

• When asked what Vermont media sources they typically access to get general information about news and events in their communities, about the same number of the phone respondents cited television as print newspapers (76.3% and 75.2%, respectively). However, when asked to identify their primary source of

information, almost double the number of people said print newspapers than said television.

• Meanwhile, the online survey respondents cited radio and print newspapers as their typical sources for information (60.7% and 57.3%, respectively), with slightly fewer mentioning television (50%) and online newspapers (44.7%). However, when asked to identify the primary source of information about what’s going on in their communities, almost double the number of people said print newspapers than said radio. Television news and online newspapers ranked just below radio as the primary source of information.

• The majority of respondents use e-mail. About 70% of all respondents said they pass along online content that they like to other people and more than 80% said they typically view online content passed along from other people. Slightly more than a third of phone respondents used online social networking sites (mostly Facebook) and watched videos online (mostly through YouTube). This compares to two thirds of online respondents using social networking and three quarters watching videos online.

For more info, contact Jessica Hyman.

screen and in non-active leisure activities (twice as much as the national average, 5 hours) with little time devoted to physical activity (2.5 minutes a day). When this group is overweight, their body mass index, on average, 10 points higher than women with active lifestyles. Considering overweight is signified by a BMI of greater than 25, this lifestyle indicates that these women are not just overweight, they are obese (BMI>30).

Even when lifestyle pattern is included in the analysis, black women and women of “other race” (including Hispanic) have higher BMIs compared to white women, and those living in the northeast and in urban areas have lower BMIs compared with every other region in the United

States.

This study is the first to show a “protecting” effect of being able to cook and prepare meals at home. Being the primary cook in a household decreases BMI by 1.75 points, while every 10 minutes spent preparing meals decreases BMI by .13 points for overweight women. Unfortunately, for every additional meal they eat, these women have BMIs 3.96 points higher and for every additional 10 minutes spend in “secondary drinking” (i.e. drinking secondary to another activity), their BMI is increased by .55 points. Dr. Kolodinsky will be presenting her results at the The Economics of Food, Food Choice and Health seminar in Germany in September.

Vermonter Poll 2011: CRS takes the pulse of the state each year in its annual Vermonter Poll. To get your questions on this statewide public

opinion survey, contact Thomas Desisto at thomas.desisto@uvm.edu