Parke Wilde

Biography 

Dr. Parke Wilde, PhD, is a food economist and Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, where his work focuses on the economics of U.S. food and nutrition policy, including federal nutrition assistance programs, food security, and sustainable food systems. 

A former economist at USDA’s Economic Research Service, Dr. Wilde teaches graduate courses in statistics, U.S. food policy, and climate change, and has played key national roles such as Director of Design for the SNAP Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) evaluation and member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Food Forum. He also directed the USDA-funded RIDGE Partnership and is the award‑winning author of Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction, whose third edition was released in 2025.

Education

• Ph.D., 1998, Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
• M.S., 1996, Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
• B.A., 1990, Political Science, Swarthmore College

Specializations

Agriculture, Food, and Environment; Climate, Sustainability, and Food; Food Policy, Programs, and Economics; Nutrition Equity

Research Activities

• Wilde, P (2025). Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction (3rd Edition). Routledge / Taylor and Francis. This book is essential reading for students, researchers, and policymakers seeking to understand U.S. food policy from a wide range of interdisciplinary backgrounds, including food studies, agricultural and food economics and policy, public health and nutrition, and public policy. It received the Distinguished Quality of Communication award from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA).
• Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE). With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the RIDGE Partnership encouraged innovative economic research on domestic nutrition assistance programs and broadened the network of researchers applying their expertise to USDA topics.
• University #flyingless initiative (flyingless.org). This climate initiative includes a video series and published research on low-carbon conferencing.
• From Scarcity to Prosperity. This research project was supported by USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA). Results included articles in the journals Food Policy, Health Education & Behavior, and the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, and a free interactive online Thrifty Food Plan Calculator, which allows users to try out model food plans that balance cost, nutrition, and consumer appeal.