THE NOVEL coronavirus has triggered waves of panic buying in grocery stores across the country, causing fluctuating shortages in staples such as eggs, milk and pasta. Most of these shortages are temporary — supply chains remain largely unaffected, and stocks will replenish. But restocked shelves won’t bring much relief to Americans who can’t afford to put food on the table. Soaring unemployment is set to swell the ranks of the 37 million Americans who were already living in food-insecure households. Ensuring Americans have enough to eat in this economic and public health crisis demands swift action to enact anti-hunger measures that are generous and flexible.
The cruel irony is that the surge in food insecurity is arriving just as farmers around the country are forced to dump millions of gallons of milk and let vegetables rot on the vine. With businesses and schools shuttered under social distancing orders, farmers have suddenly lost buyers for half their products, which are specially prepared for those outlets rather than for grocery stores. This oversupply — millions of pounds of agricultural products — can’t be readily rerouted for retail.
Some farmers have been able to redirect what they can’t sell to food banks. But many food banks are overwhelmed and understaffed, forcing them to turn away those seeking assistance, including many first-time visitors. Government can help by further increasing funding for food banks and by scaling redistribution efforts. The California Association of Food Banks, with support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, already runs a Farm to Family program through which farmers can donate surplus product. The American Farm Bureau Federation and Feeding America, a national food bank network, have asked the Agriculture Department to help farmers and food banks work together to shorten the path from farms to food-bank shelves through a voucher program. These initiatives recognize the tragedy of wasting even one more pound of food than is necessary.
Food banks may help some families stay afloat while they seek government food assistance — which may take a while, as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agencies are likely to be inundated in the coming weeks. Fortunately, Congress took some steps to adapt benefits for the coronavirus crisis, including temporarily suspending the three-month time limit on SNAP benefits for unemployed adults without minor children. In the next covid-19 relief bill, Congress should tie this suspension to economic indicators, rather than the public health emergency, since the economic downturn may well outlast the pandemic. Congress should also boost SNAP benefits, as it did during the Great Recession. Expanding online SNAP purchasing would save unnecessary and increasingly dangerous trips to the grocery store. Industry could help here, too — online grocers should waive delivery fees and minimum purchases for food bought online with SNAP funds, especially since those funds can’t be put toward shipping and delivery fees.
Even during this economic and public health crisis, the United States makes more than enough food to feed all its residents. Getting as much of it as possible to those in need is a challenge, but one that can be met with swift and creative action.
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