State and Federal Policies that Support Food Security in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic
ISSUE
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unemployment, underemployment and furloughs across the United States which has resulted in food insecurity in many communities. The pandemic has also disrupted local markets for farmers, growers, dairymen, producers, and ranchers in the United States. This has caused many of them to have a surplus of goods that they are unable to sell.
INNOVATION
State departments of agriculture are working with federal agencies, corporations, and nonprofits to purchase food surpluses from farmers to distribute at food banks. This brief explores the unique strategies and partnerships four state departments of agriculture have used to develop and administer these purchasing programs.
OUTCOME
Over the past year, state departments of agriculture purchased more than $26 million worth of surplus agricultural products from local farmers, producers, dairymen, and ranchers to feed to the people in their states. The key to this process has been working with existing food security networks, including food banks and farmer associations.
