Giving Compass' Take:

• Claire Elise Thompson at YES! Magazine discusses what experts have to say about the state of our food system, farms and restaurants during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• How can donors help contribute to a food system that is equitable and sustainable? Where do the most significant barriers lie? 

• Here's an article on how coronavirus threatens to topple the global food system. 

From restaurant closures to empty grocery-store shelves, it’s obvious that the food system has been taking a hit in the new global reality of COVID-19. This pandemic has exposed the fact that many of our country’s food supply-chain workers have zilch in the way of a safety net. Meanwhile, without schools and restaurants to supply to, many farms are having trouble pivoting to new markets, while many farmworkers lack basic protections to carry out their essential work. Put simply: It’s a mess.

Of course, there are also bright spots. Acclaimed chefs such as José Andrés of World Central Kitchen are preparing thousands of free or low-cost meals for communities in need. Locals in places such as the San Francisco Bay Area are sewing masks for nearby farmworkers. And “victory gardens” are starting to come back in vogue.

What’s still unclear is how the long-term economic fallout from the pandemic and subsequent shifts in consumer behavior will affect our many-tentacled food system in the months and years to come. So we went to the experts: chefs, farmers, food activists, rural community leaders, and academics.

Here’s what food-focused fixers Anthony Myint, Shane Bernardo, Liz Carlisle, Rey León, and Leah Penniman had to say about how the pandemic is affecting us, from farm to table to community, and what the path forward might look like.

Read the full article about how farms and restaurants will emerge from coronavirus by Claire Elise Thompson at YES! Magazine.