Emergency Food Response during COVID-19
Boxes of pantry staples packed and ready for drive-through pick up.
Meeting the Needs of a Changing World
Beautiful radishes purchased from local producers in the Pacific Northwest going into boxes for families in Oregon.
I’ve had the privilege to speak with many of my colleagues about the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on their work in anti-poverty and anti-hunger organizations. In a world with overwhelming headlines and so much happening at once, it can be really hard to understand what is happening and why in the context of our current food systems. Food banks and food pantries have been in the news consistently as they continue to push to meet surging demands (in some places they are seeing as many as 300% the number of patrons as usual!). However, despite this coverage, the ways in which they source their food and how they may be impacted by this global pandemic can be hard to understand if you’re not already familiar with how they operate. In this article we’ve tried to lay out some of the basics of anti-hunger organization response during this time, and how they are playing a part in our broader food systems. Although each organization operates differently, there are some national trends that can help us understand how these organizations are operating at large.
How does this fit into Grounded Grub’s mission? We think that equitable access to food resources is an essential part of a sustainable food system. Without addressing the ways in which our food systems can do a better job of serving everyone, discussions regarding sustainability can tend toward a sort of elitism that completely ignores the core values of sustainability and accessibility. Thus, we feel articles like these are important in helping us all think more critically about these massive systems and how they all fit together in providing not only sustainable, but equitable food systems. We also think that efficient ways to connect “extra” food that would otherwise go to waste with people who need it are essential to making a sustainable system.
A Tale of Two Food Systems
First, I want to clarify something that is really important to understand during this time, something that contributor Emma Volk mentioned in her latest article about Local Food during COVID-19. There is more than enough food in our food system to feed everyone. So, how did we get to a place where farmers are throwing away fields of potatoes while childhood hunger has already risen nearly 25% in some states? We have to consider two separate food systems. First, there's the food system that most of us bring into our homes every day via grocery stores and farmers markets. Then there’s a second food system that provides the food that we eat when we’re out and about (restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and sporting events for example). While those food systems often overlap, there are many farms and companies that only sell in one system or the other. When the coronavirus pandemic started, many producers and distributors were left without a market for their products as that second (“out of the house”) food system incrementally shut down for the foreseeable future. While there are many restaurants doing take-out, there is a considerable amount of food that has had to shift to different markets, some of it more gracefully than others. Keep in mind, this is all happening while food banks are seeing a surge in demand due to explosive unemployment rates, and grocery store shelves remain bare in many areas. How are people closing the gap between the areas experiencing an oversupply and those that remain in desperate need?
Local Focus
While local food markets are on the rise (we covered this a bit in our Community Supported Agriculture article), there are many small farmers who rely on specialty restaurants to sell their products, and now do not have a market for their food. Many food banks are able to use increased purchasing power—due to increased donations from generous entities—to buy more food for themselves from these producers. This means that they can support more local food organizations and create new relationships with high quality producers. Refocusing on support for resilient local systems is especially necessary when much of the national system we typically rely on is slow or broken. We’re living in a nation already suffering from a truck driver shortage, and many national channels for purchasing food are strained beyond capacity, thus forcing all of us, including anti-hunger organizations, to turn to a more local focus.
USDA National Programs
But there are a handful of national programs that are making waves in the fight against food insecurity at this time. First, the USDA has started a program called the Farm to Families Food Box Program. These boxes are being distributed across the country, with big distributors taking charge for certain regions. These boxes are the result of $3 billion dollars spent by the USDA nationwide to invest in supporting farmers who do not have a market for their food at this time. The distributors make boxes with nearly 25lbs of produce and other perishable goods like milk, cheese, eggs and meat, and distribute them to food banks and pantries. Usually the USDA is embarrassingly slow with how they respond to issues, so this quick movement of so much money and food has not only been surprising, but also overwhelming for organizations already operating within a strained system. The program just started in mid-May and is supposed to run through December. Some early takeaways? The boxes are full of some really amazing produce that can be life changing for those who are receiving it. It’s also a lot of food, and finding ways to store it effectively (without letting food go to waste at home) has been a challenge for those who receive these boxes and are living alone. It’s also a lot of food moving into our local systems, and how it may disrupt local purchasing will be really interesting to see. We’ll be sure to offer more updates as time moves on! You can read more about the program directly from the USDA’s website.
Pantry Operation Change
Finally, at the level of the food pantries themselves, there have been many changes and new challenges to overcome. Many pantries continue to operate, but have to shift major aspects of how they function. Before the pandemic, many pantries were “grocery store style”, where patrons could “shop” around and decide what they wanted. While some pantries have been able to maintain patron choice, many have had to pivot toward a food box model, which means people may get food they don’t want, or feel like they don’t have any choice over what they’re eating. It has taken decades to move away from the food box model (many people are of the “beggars can’t be choosers” mindset), and hopefully as our understanding of the mechanisms through which the virus spreads increases, we can continue to add more choice back into pantry operations. Also, many pantries rely on older adults or retirees to help them operate, these are some of the most at-risk folks when it comes to coronavirus. If you’re a young person with time to spare, definitely reach out to your local pantries and see if you could lend a hand. Lastly, many pantries simply don’t have the space to operate while following social distancing measures. Many have moved distribution into parking lots but some have simply had to close their doors.
Mushrooms on pallets ready to be repacked for families.
Other awesome examples of resilience in our system that we love these days? “Little Free Pantries” based on the “little free library” model popping up in neighborhoods. Some restaurants are cooking hundreds of amazing meals for frontline workers and those in need in their communities. New organizations and faces getting involved in the fight against food insecurity. New pantries in rural areas developing in response to overwhelming need. More people are gaining interest in our food system as weaknesses are put in the spotlight.
Could this pandemic lead to overwhelming positive systemic change in our food system? Potentially. Is this pandemic leading to increased rates of poverty and food insecurity? Definitely. Creative solutions to overhaul inequitable systems will be essential to making sure that whatever “normal” is on the other side of this pandemic can serve everyone better than it ever has before.
What can you do now? Consider donating to Feeding America or local pantries in your region to help them meet this growing need. Also consider volunteering, sharing their hours and distribution info with members of your community in need, or connecting farmers with extra product to their operations team.
How have you seen your food change during COVID-19? Or are you interested in writing about something else in the food industry? Contact Us at anytime with stories from you or contributing article ideas—we’d love to hear from you!
