The Pandemic's Impact on the U.S. Food System

This note is intended not as a comprehensive account but as a starting point for discussion about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. food system. Written in late 2020, the note describes, in part through the voices of industry leaders, how the pandemic disrupted supply chains and businesses, demanded new approaches to worker safety, and forced consumers to change how they shopped for food. The note allows students to reflect on how leaders responded to rapidly changing circumstances with limited information, how the pandemic exposed or exacerbated pain points in the food system, and how the pandemic may (or may not) alter industry operations and consumer behavior over the long term.