Resilience effects in food consumption behaviour at the time of Covid-19: perspectives from Italy

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic lead Italy to undertake a severe lockdown for almost two months. All of a sudden, the lives of Italians were forced to shift in accordance with the regulations issued by government. This change in the lives of Italians can be mirrored by an adjustment in food consumer behaviour that, consequently, brought about a transition in the whole supply chain. This paper gives an overview of the recent changes in consumption patterns that occurred due to the Italian lockdown, and how evolutions in behaviour are intertwined with the evolution of the main food supply chains. Many of the events here depicted are likely to last far beyond the crisis and affect the subsequent evolution of food consumption in Italy. The Italian retail supply chain successfully adapted to the big shift in consumption. Despite purchases for essential items having increased, no stockout harmed the food security of Italians. Out-of-home consumption moved inside houses giving space to home meal preparation and comfort food. Home delivery has been the most important element in this context, as it boomed during this period, helping laggard consumers fill the digital divide, as it was mostly mediated by e-commerce platforms and instant messaging. It was also the leverage that allowed small retailers and small producers regain their space. This crisis calls for a more sustainable food system that will be increasingly oriented to moving goods rather than people, which will also have relevance in the coming years.

The Effect of Persuasive Messages in Promoting Home-Based Physical Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…At the beginning of the pandemic, Italy was one of the most seriously affected countries and, on March 08th, 2020, the Italian Government implemented extraordinary measures to limit viral transmission, including social and physical distancing measures, lockdown of industry, school, and overall social life. Although these measures have proven to be the best option to reduce the rapid spread of infections, this has produced collateral effects on other dimensions, determining a radical change in the lifestyle of the Italian population (Cancello et al, 2020 ; Cavallo et al, 2020 ; Odone et al, 2020 ).…”

Causal Impacts of Epidemics and Pandemics on Food Supply Chains: A Systematic Review

“…Therefore, there is a need to adjust operations considering the strength of SSCs. SSCs perform a fundamental role in reinforcing the resilience of food networks, contributing to the stability of access to food in periods of crisis such as pandemics and epidemics [95,96]. Our review suggests that the development of local suppliers and investment in local production are examples of policies to mitigate epidemics and pandemics in SSCs.…”

“…Furthermore, research related to the degree of vulnerability in short-and long-chains is needed. In general, the authors state that short chains play an essential role in reinforcing the resilience of food networks, contributing to the stability of access to food in periods of crisis [95]. In this way, short chains can strengthen the resilience of the food supply [80,93,96].…”

“…Change in consumer behavior (food consumption patterns) [7,8,11,13,29,36,39,41,50,52,58,60,64,[70][71][72][73]80,81,83,84,89,93,95,96,[101][102][103]105,106,111,114,115,131,132,134,138,142,160,174,187] Demand analysis plans Operational and contingency plans [41,68] Synchronize strategic processes [46] Food surveillance measures should include consumer-eating habits [64] Innovative marketing and planning of the distribution [93] Relaxation of competition laws [187] Adjust payment methods to consumers' demands [93] Information sharing tool...…”

Changes in Production Efficiency During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Already in the first months of new pandemic restrictions (partial lockdown) created the new scheme of consumer behaviour (Avtar et al, 2021;Bove and Benoit, 2020;Islam et al, 2020;Mehta, Saxena, and Purohit, 2020;Nakat and Bou-Mitri, 2021). The society felt anxiety resulting from limited access to social utility units, medical care, as well as limited access to fresh products of everyday life (fresh vegetables, meat, bread, dairy products), pharmaceuticals (Baryshnikova, Kiriliuk, and Klimecka-Tatar, 2020;Blenkinsop, 2020;Cavallo, Sacchi, and Carfora, 2020;Dziuba and Ulewicz, 2021;Klimecka-Tatar, Kiriliuk, and Baryshnikova, 2021;Nakat and Bou-Mitri, 2021;O'Hara and Toussaint, 2021;Szymczyk, 2020). However, the biggest concern was the shutdown of numerous production plants.…”