ROOM AT THE TABLE - Intersight - University at Buffalo

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF VARIOUS FOOD INDUSTRIES
Different parts of the food system have a different economic impact
on Erie County. Spending by both consumers and businesses in each sector
of the food system ripples throughout the county economy, and generates
an impact on the county’s entire economy. To measure the economic impact
of the Erie County food system, we calculated economic multipliers for
each component of the food system. The total effects’ economic multiplier
measures the economic return for one dollar spent in that sector (see Table
8.2). *1For example, the total economic multiplier of 2.03 for fruit farming
shows that in Erie County, $1 spent by consumers on purchase of fruits
will generate $2.03 in the overall economy. Thus, the higher the reported
economic multiplier, the greater positive economic effect the individual
component has on the overall county economy.
Below, we estimated the economic impact of four different
industries within food production and processing sectors. These chosen
industries represent promising sectors that can create larger multiplier
effects than other food production and processing industries. Among these
four industries, fruit farming has the highest multiplier effect, and vegetable
farming ranked fourth. Bread and bakery manufacturing ranked second and
cookie, cracker, and pasta manufacturing ranked third for multiplier effects
among Erie County’s food processing industry (See Table 8.2).
DISCONNECTS IN THE LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM
A key economic development concern is the disconnect that exist
within Erie County’s food system. Instead of being a part of the same “cluster”
industries—a geographic concentration of interconnected companies and
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County spend their money on commodities from food businesses located
*Three types of input predicted: direct, indirect and induced. Direct impact measures
effect on the primary industry responding to demand change. Indirect impact measures
effect on sectors other than the primary industry due to an economy’s interconnectedness.
Induced impact measures all sectors combined.
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Table 8.2 – Multiplier Effect by Selected Food
Industry
Direct Indirect Induced Total
Effects Effects Effects Effects
Fruit farming 1 0.25 0.78 2.03
Vegetable and melon
farming
1 0.31 0.63 1.94
Bread and bakery product
manufacturing
1 0.56 0.34 1.90
Cookie, cracker, and
pasta manufacturing
1 0.60 0.24 1.84
(Source: IMPLAN, Erie County 2009)