Food Insecurity in the Time of Covid-19

By: Matthew Allen 

​   The Covid-19 crisis has disrupted so many of the things in our everyday lives, including one of the most fundamental: food. At the same time that we’re seeing shortages in grocery stores, we’re seeing surpluses on farms. Surpluses so large that farmers are crushing eggs, dumping milk, and, in a shocking case in Idaho, burying one million onions, all because they know they won’t be able to sell them. This problem of too much food where it’s not needed, and too little where it is, is a result of the inability of our supply chain to adapt.  While our food distribution system is normally quite efficient, it relies on predictability. As a result of Covid-19, many of the biggest buyers of food, such as restaurants and school cafeterias, have closed. The chain has struggled to shift from supplying about half of all food to establishments such as this, to now bringing almost all of it to grocery stores. And this is exacerbated by the fact that distribution requires labor, and most workers are being told to stay home. As a result, we’re seeing farmers struggling to make a simple living, while also seeing grocery stores struggling just to stock shelves, and, in some of our more densely populated centers, limits to customers on how much of one item they can buy. In addition to creating difficulties for consumers, these shortages are also having a huge effect on our food banks. Food banks typically relied upon grocery stores for a significant portion of their total donations, but, now that grocery stores have less and less left over on the shelves, food banks have seen a 35% reduction in donations from the retail sector. This comes at a particularly difficult time when unemployment is at its second-highest in our nation’s history, and a time when millions of children who would typically be receiving free meals at their schools no longer are. In 2018, there were about 37 million food insecure people in the United States. That number is much, much, higher now due to several factors. The first of which is a massive increase in unemployment, the second worst in American history. In addition, there are higher prices for food due to a huge spike in demand from panic-buying and hoarding. There are also even more mobility issues for seniors, 5.5 million of which were already food insecure before this crisis. Since they are one of the populations at highest risk, public transportation, which- for many- is the only option, becomes very dangerous. As a result of all of this, Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, estimates there will be an increase of between 4.1 million and 17.1 million in individuals who are food insecure because of the Covid-19 crisis. In a time as uniquely challenging as this, everyone has difficulties and problems, whether that is having to stay at home for several months or having to leave college early. But for far too many Americans, it’s a matter of whether or not they’ll be able to put food on the table for themselves and their families that night. During this crisis, it’s even more important than usual that we remember those who need our help, both as a national community and as individuals. Our government should be doing more to ensure a steady food supply, such as financing the payroll of food distribution companies; and to help those who are unemployed, such as by canceling payments like student loan debt and rent. But we as individuals also need to take responsibility to not take up more food than we need from grocery stores, and to make donations to our local food banks. In this time of crisis, we need to come together as Americans to make sure that, while a disease can disrupt our everyday lives, it doesn’t keep people from being able to feed themselves and their families.
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