How has COVID-19 contributed to the global food crisis ?

COVID-19 has caused a number of issues that have exponentially reduced food security for masses of people. As a global pandemic, the impact of the coronavirus has been felt by billions. Shelter in place orders and massive shutdowns have rocked the world’s economy. The economic upheaval has led to massive unemployment, damaging the economic security of many people who now cannot afford enough food to eat.

The pandemic also caused food shortages as people purchased surpluses of food for the expectation of staying at home for extended periods of time. Another issue is the fact that many people cannot leave their homes as much as they need due to pre-existing health conditions. Thus, they cannot get to the grocery store as often as they need. And some food industries experienced disruption to growing, harvesting, processing, and distributing food due to shut downs. In addition to diminishing available food supplies, this has also resulted in higher food prices. Meanwhile, many children lost regular access to free school lunches.