Secure the food supply chain before the next disaster strikes

This past spring, families scrambled to find infant formula anywhere they could — at grocery stores, through online forums and via their local community networks. 

The formula shortage, which is still ongoing, was somewhat different from panic buying during the early stages of the pandemic — it was longer, impacted very specific products and affected the main food source of an extremely vulnerable population. It was also felt somewhat unevenly from state to state based on WIC procurement practices that occur during non-disaster times. 

These recent incidents are cautionary tales — food supply chains are agile, to an extent. But when supply chains are disrupted, issues are compounded, inequitably is exacerbated and typically underserved communities can experience the greatest challenges.

Food equity is founded on the principle of the availability and access to healthful, affordable and culturally appropriate foods. The School Nutrition Standards and related feeding programs provide an exception to an otherwise barren landscape of programs that bridge nutrition with access to feeding programs. Nutrition standards, summer feeding programs and subsidized meals all help keep our children fed when access to nutrition at home is challenged. More than 10 percent of households experience food insecurity during normal times, with many more pushed into insecurity in the aftermath of a disaster.

Later this month, the Biden administration will convene the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which is the first time in over 50 years that the White House is convening an event to transform food policy, including issues surrounding access and disparities. This presents an important opportunity to build resilience and equity in food security before, during and after disasters.

How can stakeholders support this principle during disasters?  During disasters, government entities should continue to focus on the most vulnerable households via traditional feeding programs, like food distribution sites. However, we advocate that stakeholders should consider providing more support to the private sector and upstream nodes, during all phases of emergency management. On a day-to-day basis, these nodes are highly critical in supporting an incredible amount of people with culturally appropriate food; during emergencies, they support normally vulnerable and newly vulnerable households at a scale, and via complex systems and processes, that government entities cannot easily duplicate.

FEMA and emergency management agencies have determined food and water to be a critical lifeline, one of the core functions required for society to function. However, there are still significant learning opportunities for the public sector as to how the supply chain actually functions. More than four out of five shoppers report using supermarkets at least fairly often, and restaurants are the nation’s second-largest private-sector employer. Despite the private sector supporting the bulk of our nation’s complex food supply chain, there are still no concrete strategies as to how the government can support (or should collaborate with) these key contributors during disasters. 

To better support this essential infrastructure during disasters — and ensure the communities that need the most assistance receive the help they need, government entities and other partners need to shift towards supporting a more comprehensive food landscape.

One of the challenges is that our food systems are inherently siloed, including across agencies that are responsible for coordinating a range of food safety, nutrition programs, and food assistance programs. Developing incentives that foster coordination — within and across — during blue skies could help us build a more resilient food supply chain, which would yield benefits during emergencies as well. 

During disasters, emergency management agencies from the local to the national level implement only a slight variation of these decentralized structures. Food stakeholders, including nonprofits, schools, grocers, restaurants and distributors, are spread across a range of groups (known in the emergency management industry as “Emergency Support Functions”), instead of under one comprehensive umbrella overseeing this critical lifeline. This structure inhibits situational awareness and coordination between preexisting feeding systems and ad hoc activities.

Additionally, during disasters, a routine type of formal aid that is offered to the food supply chain is at the household level through financial resources for purchasing food through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as D-SNAP. This allows newly vulnerable households to spend funds at retailers alongside pre-existing SNAP beneficiaries (approximately one in eight Americans). Food pantries are also an important component but may face limitations in scaling up to meet demand. Helping households to access food through food pantries or purchase food through stores is not helpful if there are no groceries on the shelves or grocery stores that are open. 

Despite the most vulnerable households relying heavily on food pantries, grocery stores, big box stores and other retailers to meet their food needs, these and other upstream nodes in the supply chain (e.g. distribution centers, and manufacturers) do not typically receive any forms of assistance or prioritization during disasters. The lack of consistent support is in stark contrast to other types of critical infrastructure — such as the utility, energy and healthcare sectors, which are eligible for hazard mitigation grants to make their population and structures more resilient, prioritized for restoration and often receive support in securing resources (e.g., fuel) to run operations. By increasing synergy between government entities and the private sector, lifeline stakeholders can respond faster and provide support to those who need it most.  

Building off this month’s White House conference, we encourage public sector entities to collaborate with the private sector more meaningfully to build a more resilient and equitable supply chain during disasters. The engagement must start with federal stakeholders, as they provide the strategy and funding to states and municipalities. 

Global tensions are rising, and the frequency and impact of natural disasters are increasing year over year — our communities shouldn’t have to wait until the next hurricane, pandemic or food safety issue, for purposeful action.

Katie Murphy is senior manager of Business Continuity at C&S Wholesale Grocers, a wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. supplying more than 7,700 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases and institutions with over 100,000 different products. Jeff Schlegelmilch is the director at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School. He is also the author of “Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters” from Columbia University Press.