Giving Compass' Take:

• Food Tank has compiled an essay collection that provides insights from experts on how to build a post-COVID-19 food system. 

• How can donors help build a better food system after COVID-19? 

• Learn more about why the food system needs a rebuild after the pandemic. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t go back to normal. Normal was a broken food system that left vulnerable communities behind and hurt our natural biodiverse ecosystems.

How do we rebuild a food system that’s truly regenerative and restorative? How do we create systems that are not just diverse but truly inclusive? How do we feed a growing population without sacrificing our fragile planet?

Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been hosting Food Talk Live conversations twice daily, and I’ve spoken with countless farmers, chefs, journalists, scientists, entrepreneurs, sustainable business leaders, and other food system stakeholders. From these conversations, I’ve realized we need to blend technology with traditional wisdom, make the invisible visible, recognize the power of food as medicine, and use both our forks and our ballots to vote for a healthier food system.

In the journal Agriculture and Human Values, over 80 inspiring researchers and advocates share their own insights into how COVID-19 has impacted the food system and how we move forward. The essay collection, which Food Tank was honored to help organize along with many other brilliant folks, is available for everyone to read for free.

Food Tank is highlighting some of the articles from this series that pave the way toward a more equitable and sustainable post-COVID food system.

Alison Hope Alkon, Sarah Bowen, Yuki Kato, and Kara Alexis Young, food justice and equity scholars, on unequal vulnerability to COVID

Ana Moragues-Faus, political economist of food, on building distributive food economies

Bill McKibben, climate change scientist, on playing by nature’s rules

Read the full article about healthier post-COVID-19 food system by Danielle Nierenberg at Food Tank.