Local Food Purchases, Food Safety, and COVID-19
This article was written by a guest contributor, Emma Volk. Read about Emma here.
Hi Grounded Grub community! As part of an agricultural extension program, I’ve spent the past few weeks providing resources to farmers and consumers alike regarding food and COVID-19. These resources aim to address all kinds of new questions: How should people approach food safety during this period? Is the virus transmissible through food products? How can customers access locally grown produce while grocery stores and farmers markets face extraordinary challenges?
I don’t have all of the answers, but I’m going to try to help you navigate and understand food purchases and food safety during the COVID-19 crisis.
Necessary Businesses
As all of you know, I’m sure, farms and grocery stores are necessary businesses, so they’re allowed to stay open and operate as usual under stay-at-home orders. But did you know that farmers markets fall under the ‘grocery store’ category in most counties and states? That means they’re still open! (As long as market managers feel that they can keep running under safe and healthy conditions, of course.) So check your local farmers market’s website to see if they’re still operating. If the market is open, they may have important safety protocols listed on their website for customers to follow.
If your local market is closed for the time being, they may have a list of vendors on their website. This is a great resource for locating alternative sale avenues. Farmers across the country have adapted to COVID-19 by building online stores, creating no-contact pick-up sites, or opening curbside stands. Go through the list of farm vendors and visit their websites or social media. Farms should have information on how they have adapted to the crisis, and they’ll have directions on how to gain access to their produce, meat, or dairy.
Food Safety and COVID-19
Now you may be curious about how safe it is to eat your fresh, locally sourced veggies once they’re on your plate. As of now, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has not found any proof that COVID-19 is transmissible through food. Nevertheless, the CDC still encourages people to wash their hands for 20 seconds before preparing food and throughout the day. And while it may be tempting to take extra precautions by washing your produce with soap and water, food safety experts discourage consumers from doing this. A simple rinse is sufficient to clean your fresh produce, and washing with soaps or detergents could be harmful. Thoroughly cooking your food is also a sure-fire way to make sure that your food is safe to eat (even when there isn’t a global pandemic). Here’s a link to the CDC’s webpage on food safety.
Every state and local health department is different, so COVID-19 food safety guidelines may vary across the country. If you’re nervous about how farmers are handling their produce, go to your local health department website or state university website to understand what new food safety measures are encouraged during the pandemic. You can also check out the FDA’s ‘Food Safety and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)’ webpage, where they answer questions along the lines of food safety and food supply.
Food Supply
Find yourself wandering through the grocery stores looking at empty shelves? Curious why certain items aren’t available and if supply/availability will improve? One thing is for certain regarding the American food supply - farms are still producing, and government officials have assured us that there is no food shortage. Whether that food makes its way to our tables or not is another question since the supply chain faces new challenges. Grocery stores have experienced shortages of certain goods due to a shift in demand. People are also eating out less which puts more pressure on grocery stores to provide food for meals that normally would have been consumed at restaurants. This change in demand means that the supply chain has to adjust. How long this takes and how long the pandemic lasts will have an effect on the types and amount of food available to us at the grocery store. But the exact effects we will see in the long-term have yet to be determined given that this situation and government restrictions change every day.
Why do I see pictures of farmers dumping milk or tilling their produce into the soil?
Schools have shut down, and restaurants have too, or they’ve at least experienced a decrease in demand. These two sale avenues are incredibly important for many farmers. And now that they’re no longer an option, many farms don’t have a place to sell their meat, milk, or produce. You might be wondering, why can’t farms just sell to grocery stores or donate their food? For one, the restaurant supply chain, in certain cases, is not prepared to pivot and provide food for grocery stores. For example, a company that processes and packages milk for school lunches may not have the necessary equipment to package milk the way grocery stores would like it. And second of all, food banks and farms don’t always have the capacity to store surplus food. These factors have led certain farmers across the country to destroy their crop. For fruit, vegetable, and grain growers, this means planting again in hopes that by the time new seeds are ready for harvest, the supply chain will be equipped to handle that food.
SNAP, WIC, and Other Government Food Programs
Some government food programs have altered their requirements and benefits as a response to the economic effects of COVID-19. For example, some states no longer require an interview before approving a family for SNAP benefits. If you are curious about the adjustments your state has made to these programs, please visit this site for more information.
In response to the various problems the food industry has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, here are some ideas to help you, your family, your neighbors, and farmers.
Only purchase what you will need in the next week or two. Hoarding pasta, flour, canned vegetables, or toilet paper means that another person doesn’t have access to those items.
Look to your local restaurants. Some eateries have started to sell supplies that they don’t need but have access to. Things like toilet paper, flour, and vegetables, are all items that I have witnessed restaurants sell or donate to my community.
Were you one of the food hoarders at the start of this pandemic? Consider donating those canned black beans you haven’t touched to the local food bank.
This article was written by a guest contributor, Emma Volk. Read about Emma here.
Are you interested in writing a contributing article to continue this discussion? Or are you interested in writing about something else in the food industry? Contact Us at anytime with proposals, we’d love to hear from you!
