Conference Presentation, Panel
Feeding the Nation During COVID 19: Food, Hope, and Recovery - Conference Call Series
- Food insecurity in the U.S. is projected to reach Great Depression levels, with an additional 17 million people expected to become food insecure due to the economic impact of COVID-19.
- Demand for food assistance has surged significantly, with 97% of the 200-food bank network reporting an average 70% increase in demand, while some locations experienced rises of up to 200%.
- Retail grocer donations, which typically provide 1.4 billion of the 4 billion meals distributed annually, are expected to contract by as much as 60%, creating procurement challenges for shelf-stable items.
- Feeding America anticipates deploying resources to hundreds of hospitals where feeding systems have collapsed, while World Central Kitchen aims to expand operations to over 90 cities by adding one to three new cities daily.
- Current daily meal output from World Central Kitchen is near 250,000, with a goal for the entire network to feed 15% of the U.S. population.
- Specific distribution targets include serving 25 million meals by June 12th within the Los Angeles Unified district and utilizing hotel freezers and parking lots as new distribution centers.
- Operational plans involve leveraging private sector resources, such as bringing over 500 restaurants into the distribution system to cover blind spots and eliminate food deserts.
- Volunteer reliance is expected to shift due to safety concerns, requiring the replacement or supplementation of vulnerable volunteers with paid staff.
- A critical infrastructure gap exists regarding refrigeration capacity needed for 60,000 pantries and kitchens to store healthy produce over the short, mid, and long term.
- Policy recommendations include expanding EBT card usage for grocery purchases, increasing federal investment to pay workers, and establishing a specialized food relief organization comparable to FEMA.
- Economic interventions are proposed to support small farmers through USDA purchases to prevent bankruptcy and avert increased poverty in rural America.
- Long-term strategies aim to use the crisis as an opportunity to address systemic issues, solve distribution problems through systematic approaches, and build a more resilient national food infrastructure.