[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/15\/covid-19-food-supply-chain\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/15\/covid-19-food-supply-chain\/","headline":"The center cannot hold: Coronavirus fractures food supply chain","name":"The center cannot hold: Coronavirus fractures food supply chain","description":"The impact of the pandemic is upending global food production and distribution, revealing coronavirus food supply chain fractures.","datePublished":"2020-04-15","dateModified":"2025-05-05","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/#Person","name":"Marcia Yusavage","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/marcia-yusavage\/","identifier":298,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9929f6ff16e34cd6d43daf18411658f8565960b4c0fd78662963005f1aa9afb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/covid-19-food-supply-chain.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/covid-19-food-supply-chain.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/15\/covid-19-food-supply-chain\/","about":["Agribusiness","COVID-19 and Business","Future of Grocery Retail","Future of Supply Chain","Government + Public Sector","Retail Trends, Data, News"],"wordCount":663,"keywords":["COVID-19 Supply Chain","Supply Chain","Wholesale and Supply Chain"],"articleBody":"As dairy farmers dump milk they can\u2019t sell and meat processing plants shut down for the foreseeable future, fears about the nation\u2019s coronavirus food supply chain are growing.The cascading, destructive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is upending the production and distribution of food. Factory workers are falling ill and sick drivers can\u2019t distribute food. The closure of restaurants, office and school cafeterias has left farmers with fewer places to sell, leading some to dump their products.While the food supply chain buckles under the strain of COVID-19, grocery stores struggle to keep certain shelves stocked and lines at local food banks grow longer by the day.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowWith port and border closures and aviation disruptions around the world, concerns about the food supply are at a global scale. Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, warned of the risk in a March 29 paper.A \u201cprotracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more,\u201d he wrote.Cullen urged countries \u201cto make every effort to keep the gears of their food supply chains moving.\u201dPlants closing, milk and crops dumpedThe closure of one of the nation\u2019s largest pork processing plants in Sioux Falls, S.D., earlier this week after about 240 employees became ill with COVID-19, highlights the growing breakdown in the food supply chain.Plant workers, who work in tight quarters and are deemed essential, are at risk of contracting the disease. Some have already died.With other meat plants closing due to the pandemic, the CEO of Smithfield, which owns the Sioux Falls plant, warned of a looming meat shortage.\u201cThe closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants that have shuttered across our industry, is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply. It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running. These facility closures will also have severe, perhaps disastrous, repercussions for many in the supply chain, first and foremost our nation\u2019s livestock farmers,\u201d Kenneth Sullivan said in a statement.While the pandemic forces meat plants to close, dairy farmers are dumping their milk and other farmers are plowing over their crops because they can\u2019t get it to market.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowCoronavirus food supply chain: Too much pressureExperts say the nation isn\u2019t running out of food, at least not yet. There\u2019s plenty of meat, for example.The problem revolves around distribution and the two separate food supply chains for consumers and commercial entities.With restaurants and schools closed, many growers and distributors have been forced to make a sudden shift from wholesale to retail markets, which presents a logistical and packaging nightmare for highly perishable products like meat, vegetables, and dairy.At the same time, truckers who bring products to market are either falling ill or staying at home because of COVID-19.The long-term impact of COVID-19 on the food supply becomes more dire when you consider the people who work on farms and fields. As essential workers, they continue to labor, but are at risk.According to a CNN report, workers and their union representatives are sounding the alarm about unsafe working conditions and the potential for outbreaks that could endanger the nation\u2019s food supply. And with travel restrictions and border closing, there would be few workers to replace them.  Supply chain challenges can make for a wild ride. Get advice, best practices, + predictions from top experts HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2020","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"04","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"15","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/\/04\/\/15\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The center cannot hold: Coronavirus fractures food supply chain","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2020\/04\/15\/covid-19-food-supply-chain\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]