From Grocery Stores to Restaurants

by Angela Mao

I’m sure we’ve all seen the empty shelves and fights over toilet paper splattered all over our social media feeds during the COVID-19 crisis. People are panicking over the shortages, causing them to head out in swarms to the grocery store and stock up on essentials. However, are we actually at risk of severe food shortages? Is their fear warranted?

Problems Facing the Supply Chain 

COVID-19 is affecting the food supply chain in the United States, beginning with farm labor, a crucial link in the process. Many farm workers come from Mexico and other countries using agricultural H-2A visas, and although they are still allowed to come into the country, the coronavirus situation may deter them from coming. Additionally, many farm laborers are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 from outbreaks in the field. Transportation presents another issue: the US trucking industry had a shortage of drivers even before COVID-19 and many truck drivers do not feel safe on the road. As for the global supply chain, it is well known how the airline and shipping industries are struggling. For instance, many planes have been grounded, reducing air freight capacity. 

Ironically, even when demand for food is high, a lot of it is going to waste. Restaurants, hotels, schools, and other businesses who usually order vast amounts of food have all shut their doors. Farmers in the dairy industry are estimated to have dumped as many as 3.7 million gallons of milk each day, while a single chicken processor is smashing 750,000 unhatched eggs every week. The reason why is because food is packaged differently when it’s being sent to a grocery store compared to when it’s sent to a restaurant or hotel. Food service can afford truckloads of products, while a regular consumer cannot. The producers who typically sell to the food service industry also have to find new methods and distributors to sell their products to grocery stores instead. Additionally, products marketed to the food service industry do not have to abide by the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition labeling guidelines for consumer sales, meaning that those products cannot just be redirected to grocery stores. 

Of course, you can’t discuss food shortages without mentioning the crisis that has befallen the meat processing industry. Meat processing plant workers that have caught the virus have forced some large plants to close, causing beef and pork production to plummet. Tyson, one of the largest meat processors in the United States, has shuttered several plants in recent weeks as workers fall ill with COVID-19. It also warned that it expects to close more plants as the situation progresses, meaning that there will be slowdowns and shortages. 

Should we be worried? 

So far, we don’t have any reason to worry about our food supply in the United States. The food supply chain in the United States is self-sufficient: all parts of the process, from growers to distribution centers, are located on American soil. Additionally, the production takes place all around the country, meaning that even if there’s a crisis in one region, our supply chain will remain intact. The troubling prospect that workers may fall sick may not have drastic consequences, as plenty of sectors don’t require intensive human labor as they use industrial-scale machinery instead. Many industry leaders think that shortages will happen, but it will not be a serious issue. Customers may not have access to as much variety as they are used to, but no one will go hungry. However, many Americans are still worried about seeing the empty shelves in their grocery stores and are shaken when they can’t find staples such as eggs and flour. 

Supply Chain Adaptations 

The supply chain must adapt to these shifts in supply and demand. Some methods to combat this have been undertaken. For instance, some restaurants have begun selling fresh produce directly to their customers to stay afloat, much like a grocery store. Producers have reduced the variety of products they offer and distributors now keep drivers on the road longer- from 11 hours to 14 hours. However, the issue does not lie with the United State’s farmers, but rather with how the food ends up in our grocery carts.