COVID‐19 and the Case for a National Food Emergency Stockpile

Food insecurity in the United States is not a new challenge, but the coronavirus pandemic has revealed that the current system to support Food Assistance Providers (FAPs) is incredibly brittle and vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. Many FAPs use just‐in‐time models to support their operations, relying heavily on donations from restaurants and grocers. However, COVID‐19 has demonstrated that when a disaster causes increased food demand and widespread destabilization of food supply chains, jurisdictions are severely constrained from obtaining and delivering food to populations in need. Recent events have further amplified a potential danger to current food security strategies in terms of regions experiencing multiple events, such as a pandemic coupled with hurricanes, wildfires, or other catastrophes. After exploring the current governmental food security measures, their long‐term deficiencies, and other lessons learned through the COVID‐19 response, we call for a major policy shift in how the country addresses food insecurity following a disaster. Rather than relying on after‐the‐fact spending and hastily created infrastructure, the nation should proactively stockpile shelf‐stable food. To this end, we propose establishing a national stockpile of shelf‐stable foods to help protect against future food supply destabilization.