Novel methods for an interesting time: Exploring U.S. local food systems’ impacts and initiatives to respond to COVID*

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic and associated public health and social distancing mandates caused unprecedented shifts and disruptions for local and regional food systems (LRFS). The pandemic also brought new and heightened attention to the structure and resiliency of US food systems, and LRFS appeared to be positioned to significantly increase the scope and scale of their market reach as a result. Researchers from three universities collaborated with staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service to recruit leaders from sixteen key coalitions within the U.S. LRFS sector to frame an adaptive, community‐driven set of applied research activities to understand important themes, learn from effective responses and gain insights into how local and regional supply chains may change post‐pandemic. In this paper, we summarise urgent and emergent strategies and innovations from LRFS captured in a fall 2020 consumer survey, with additional insights on how the survey was framed and interpreted, considering synthesis of collaborative discussions and project team interactions. We conclude the article with a set of research, policy and technical assistance priorities that were identified and validated by this LRFS network.

Should I Pay or Should I Grow? Factors Which Influenced the Preferences of US Consumers for Fruit, Vegetables, Wine and Beer during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Favorable or unfavorable attitudes are likely to influence the decision whether consumers buy or grow [ 25 ]. The questions addressing COVID-19 focused on culture, society, fairness, instability and control, which are common topics in the recent literature within this research domain [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 15 ]. Similarly, all nine questions related to horticultural engagement were based on a seven-point Likert scale ranging between strongly disagree (1) and strongly agree (7) and focused on home gardening, bee keeping, food processing and food sharing.…”

“…In December 2019, a new variant of the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 caused a global pandemic [ 1 , 2 ]. The highly transmittable virus reached the United States of America (US) during February 2020 and the rapidly growing number in infections resulted in control measures and health mandates being enacted by the US government to counteract the spread of the virus [ 3 , 4 ]. Stay-at-home orders were issued that advised US citizens to avoid socializing and attending mass events.…”

“…Despite the growth in gardening as a leisure activity, the production of home-grown food is still very much a critical lifeline for many US citizens in terms of food security and providing regular access to fresh produce [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The US is reliant on the global food supply system, which has been disrupted since the occurrence of COVID-19 [ 3 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Regular chain flows from material suppliers to final consumers were disrupted by the increased cost of freight and the late arrival of cargo delivering imported products [ 11 ].…”

“…Since the occurrence of the coronavirus disease, research has focused on the impact that COVID-19 has had on US society, as well as beliefs and attitudes of people towards lockdowns, health mandates, physical restrictions and impact on their everyday life [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. This includes food purchases, gardening and other horticulture-related activities where physical contact and gatherings occur [ 11 , 15 , 16 ].…”

COVID-19 and the Locavores: Investigating the Drivers of US Consumer Preferences for Apples

“…These disruptions caused supply uncertainties for consumers, who in turn began to question where their food was grown and how it was being delivered, demonstrating an erosion in their trust towards the global food system. The trend of online buying from local suppliers intensified as a direct consequence of these events [7][8][9]. This shift towards buying local produce online, as opposed to buying directly from the producer was a trend that could be seen in US Department of Agriculture [USDA] Agricultural Census data as early as 2012 [10].…”