Challenges to Food Charity Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused many significant disruptions to the food system, including the charitable food sector. Using qualitative interviewing, this research draws from the experiences of food pantry staff and volunteers during the early months of the pandemic in the greater Buffalo, New York area. Participants describe the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on product acquisition, distribution, and other challenges. Buffalo food charity organizations adapted to these challenges and demonstrated how diversified food supply lines, strong interorganizational relationships, and federal food assistance programs could increase food charity organizations’ resilience to emergencies like pandemics in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• food pantries
• food charity
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

Partial funding for this research was provided by the Center for the Advancement of Food Security and Healthy Communities at the University of South Florida.