US Food Supply: Why are Shelves Empty?

US Food Supply: Why are Shelves Empty?
US Food Supply: Why are Shelves Empty?

As American’s shop to restock their kitchens during the COVID-19 coronavirus stay-at-home order, many are met with empty shelves, causing concern and speculation on how secure the US food supply is right now.

According to experts, US citizens do not have to worry about food running out. On the flipside, every single item may not be available at all times. In the beginning of the pandemic, the number one shortage was toilet paper. Associate professor of agriculture and applied economics at Virginia Tech, Olga Isengildina Massa, said: “I think we have a strong food supply system, and it’s diversified enough to provide the products to consumers. Obviously, it has a lot of hiccups right now, but we’re working through the system.”

What is causing the food supply hiccups?

Of most recent news, several meat-packing plants have had to shut down due to employees testing positive for COVID-19. Included in the list of those that have closed are Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer where over 500 workers were infected of which one has died. Added to that list is Tyson Foods, Cargill, and JBS. Since closing, Tyson Foods has partially reopened one of its plants.

“The packing plants are larger and more concentrated, and that’s where the issue is. If a lot of them shut down at once, there could be a serious disruption. But so far we’re seeing them staggered,” said Massa.

Foreign workers pick most crops

Although US President Trump announced on Monday that he would “suspend immigration,” the ban does not include guest worker programs which the agricultural sector in the United States heavily relies on. In 2019, close to 250,000 foreign workers worked in US agriculture.

However, it has been reported that Trump has looked at policies that would cut payments to seasonal guest workers. This could deter workers from coming to the US to work on farms. This coupled with delays in processing work visas could spell problems for America’s farmers and the US food supply.

Food is being thrown away

With less food in demand because schools and restaurants are closed, some farmers are finding themselves with too much food. Many have been able to donate to food banks, but for others, without help, this is just not feasible from a transportation standpoint. The result is that perfectly good food is being thrown away.

The Produce Marketing Association reported that around US$5 billion of fresh produce has been tossed, and some dairies have poured out thousands of gallons of milk. And grocery stores cannot accommodate farmers’ packaging of certain foods, such as 50-pound bags of flour that would be normal to a bakery would be out of the question for a family to purchase.

Citizens are insecure about the US food supply

US citizens in general have always been insecure about their food supply. There have been too many cases where food was found to be tainted and batches of products have had to be recalled. The coronavirus is just stoking this fire of anxiety.

With jobs temporarily put on hold or lost altogether, many Americans are working diligently to stretch their grocery dollars. To date, over 20 million citizens have applied to unemployment. Coupled with that are children who relied on getting a good meal through their school lunch program who no longer have that resource.

Grocery stores are in high demand

So many are home now and cooking their own meals, that grocery stores are in higher demand than usual. This is coupled that with shoppers wearing masks, employees wearing masks and gloves, and the number of shoppers allowed in at one time being limited to keep social distancing in order.

For those that work at grocery stores, their job descriptions have increased to include additional cleaning duties. And because most grocery store workers now carry the additional title of being an essential worker, there is the added stress of protecting oneself from the virus and potentially bringing it home.

To avoid all this in store anxiety, many shoppers are using delivery services to have their products brought to their front door. The natural effect of that is the strain on delivery persons and companies.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz, eTN editor

Linda Hohnholz, eTN editor

Linda Hohnholz has been writing and editing articles since the start of her working career. She has applied this innate passion to such places as Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University, the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center, and now TravelNewsGroup.

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