COVID-19 Webinar: From Farmers to Grocers to Servers, Food Systems Are Changing 

 On June 25 IEDC hosted a webinar entitled “From Farmers to Grocers to Servers, Food Systems Are Changing ” which discussed the impact that COVID-19 has had on our food systems in the US. The webinar was moderated by Jan Rogers of Rogers Consulting, Twin Falls, ID and included three speakers with different perspectives on the industry:

  • Leah Douglas, Staff Writer & Associate Director at Food and Environmental Reporting Network (FERN), Washington, District of Columbia
  • Ken Meter, President at Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Laura Abshire, Food and Sustainability Policy at the National Restaurant’s Association, Washington, District of Columbia

 Douglas started off the webinar by giving an overview of the concerns and shifts in the food industry from the perspective of the producer, the consumer, and the worker. 

From the producer’s perspective the first impact came with the countrywide lockdown. The US food supply chain was hugely disrupted by restrictions on where we could be and gather, and thus where we could eat. Generally there is about a 50%-50% split between food meant for home consumption and food meant for commercial preparation. When commercial preparation basically stopped from one day to the next, commercial producers had to find different clients for their products - a huge challenge when there is not a supply chain set up. Even farmers who were selling direct-to-consumer, at venues such as farmer’s markets, suffered as such markets did not allow for social distancing. 

At the same time, there were shortages of products on the home consumption market. Both the decline of eating out and the packing about shortage led consumers to stockpile groceries, creating shortages for others. SNAP recipients faced another big issue on the consumer side - the inability to shop for groceries online. With many consumers shifting to online shopping to stay safe, SNAP recipients were unable to use their benefits online. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been working to remediate this problem. Many low-income families, SNAP recipients or not, also had to cope without free or reduced price school lunches. Under the Families First Coronavirus act, these families became eligible for additional SNAP benefits.

The agriculture industry is considered a vulnerable workforce with many low-income and immigrant workers. With the COVID-19 outbreak, and the country’s continued reliance on food, food workers are much more susceptible to COVID-19. In the beginning of the outbreak, there was a shortage of PPE for workers. This has since been resolved. The COVID relief acts also paid particular attention to agriculture workers and provided some relief, but these benefits are now quietly being taken away and the government has not taken a strong oversight role. In fact, outbreaks among food facilities continue to increase with about 400 outbreaks with 33,000 cases as of June 23, 2020.

The next speaker, Ken Meter, spoke about how to reconfigure farms and food systems after upheaval. While no one knows yet what will emerge from the current overlapping crises, everything depends on what we do now and what trust we are able to build, according to Meter. He characterized the current situation as a global market failure, and expects the local to become more critical. Regenerative food systems will form the core of economic development. 

To illustrate the ways in which we can move forward, he raised a few examples of alternative food ways. In Mount Pulaski, Illinois residents came together three years ago, after the last grocery store changed. They knew that if there wasn’t a grocery store, the community wouldn’t survive and decided to launch a cooperative grocery store. To aid in this project, a nearby crop farmer donated 9 acres for a community garden, while other farmers provide meat, milk and honey to the store. In addition, the market, which opened in late June 2020, was able to give residents a 20% discount on groceries, with the income from a wind farm. 

Another example is the Du Nord Distillery in Minneapolis, Minnesota- the first black owned distillery in the US. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis they pivoted to making hand sanitizer and formed a partnership with two other distilleries to provide for their community. Since then, they have given more than 100,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. During the civil unrest in Minneapolis their building was set on fire, but as they stored most of their stock in a warehouse they could continue operations. In fact, they became a central point in the community aggregating meal deliveries for nearby residents.

Meter indicated that economic developers can assist these organizations coming together by playing the role of the convener and the connector. By listening, responding, and sharing economic developers can bring different players with similar goals together. 

Laura Abshire gave attendees a closer look at the restaurant industry during COVID-19. Between February and May 2020 restaurant employment fell from 12.3 million to 7.6 million, with sales falling 41 percent. With restaurants slowly reopening again, Abshire is seeing the following trends emerge:

  • Limited menus: limited menus are a way for restaurants to reduce the cost without raising their prices. Many restaurants, including chains, are currently serving more limited options than before COVID-19
  • Meat Supply: While the meat industry is not completely back to normal yet, increased production looks on target
  • Groceries from restaurants: with fewer meals to make for customers, and shortage in the usual home consumption food chain restaurants shifted to supplying groceries to consumers
  • Meal kits from restaurants: more restaurants are adding “make-your-own” meals or family meals to their menus to try and attract more customers
  • Alcohol delivery: while alcohol delivery has never been allowed before, many cities and states allowed for restaurants to deliver alcoholic beverages to boost sales
  • Increase of healthy options: with personal health playing a role in how COVID-19 affects the body, there is a higher demand for healthy food
  • Single-use plastic: while over the past few years people have been turning away from single use plastic, now with COVID people prefer single use plastic again
  • SNAP usage in restaurants: It could be a huge boost for restaurants if SNAP recipients would be able to use their benefits to buy restaurant meals.

Q&A

When asked how economic developers can support farms that mostly supply restaurants, Abshire indicated that the easiest way to do so is by supporting restaurants itself. Economic developers, in their connector role, can also help farmers and restaurants find each other to build new food supply chains.

To reopen farmers markets, Meter recommended two different models he has seen implemented since the COVID-19 outbreak. The first one relies on an online platform where a customer can order from all the farmers at the market, and pick up the purchases all packed up together. The other idea is based on an honor system, where customers engage in contactless buying, pick up whatever they want and pay the farmer later using an online method.

When asked how supply chains might change post-COVID, Abshire indicated that she thinks they will be a more local and/or regional focus and include more direct communication. Douglas added that the COVID-19 crisis has raised awareness on how consolidated the food production system actually is, particularly in meatpacking. She hopes that this awareness will lead to conversations on how to increase the industry’s resilience. Meter agreed that we will start questioning larger scale systems, and that there will be more demand for localized food supplies.