COVID-19 and the Case for a National Food Emergency Stockpile

ABSTRACT

Food insecurity in the United States is not a new challenge, but the coronavirus pandemic has revealed that the current system to sup-port Food Assistance Providers (FAPs) is incredibly brittle and vul-nerable to supply chain disruptions. Many FAPs       use            just-in-time models to support their operations, relying heavily on donations from restaurants and grocers. However, COVID-19 has demon¬strated that when a disaster causes increased food demand and widespread destabilization of food supply chains, jurisdictions are severely constrained from obtaining and delivering food to pop¬ulations in need. Recent events have further amplified a potential danger to current food security strategies in terms of regions expe¬riencing multiple events, such as a pandemic coupled with hurri¬canes, wildfires, or other catastrophes. After exploring the current governmental food security measures, their long-term deficiencies, and other lessons learned through the COVID-19 response, we call for a major policy shift in how the country addresses food insecurity following a disaster. Rather than relying on after-the-fact spending and hastily created infrastruc¬ture, the nation should proactively stockpile shelf-stable food. To this end, we propose establishing a national stockpile of shelf-sta¬ble foods to help protect against future food supply destabilization. © 2020, Policy Studies Organization. All rights reserved.