Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are five reflections on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted food systems, and the steps we can take to sustain food supplies.

• What are the largest barriers to ensuring food sustainability? What role can donors play? 

• Read more about food insecurity brought on by COVID-19. 

As the COVID-19 crisis spreads across borders and continents, we have an opportunity to reflect on the transformation needed if we want to develop a food system that nourishes all people, regenerates and sustains the environment, and enables the resilience and flourishing of culture and community. Here are five reflections:

  1. It is important to recognize that the COVID-19 crisis started with a food choice.
  2. Empty grocery shelves are not just the result of the human tendency to hoard in times of danger, but an important reminder that our food supply chains are easily disrupted and many of our food systems lack resilience and redundancy.
  3. The COVID-19 crisis has further exposed the limitations of a food system that fails to adequately nourish the majority of the world’s population.
  4. As the world economy slides into a recession, the agricultural production and grocery retail sectors appear well-positioned to weather the storm because people still need to eat and will prioritize their spending on food.
  5. In times of crisis, small- and medium-sized enterprises in most parts of the world play a critical role in ensuring that poor and vulnerable people, who are always the ones that suffer the most, continue to have employment as well as access to food.

The impacts of the COVID crisis will likely require a rebuilding of economies across the world. This is both a challenge and an opportunity to rebuild something that serves people better, and will require both vision and commitment at local, regional and global levels. Some key and actionable steps include:

  1. Dramatically shifting dietary patterns towards more healthy, protective foods such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, fish and whole grains.
  2. Supporting strong local and regional food systems in order to increase resilience and redundancy.

Read the full article about food system during COVID-19 by Roy Steiner, Mehrdad Ehsani, Peiman Milani and Daniel Skaven Ruben at The Rockefeller Foundation.