By Gary Feldman
As the world has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, we have been neglecting our lifeline: Food.
The World Food Programme is the leading humanitarian organization that delivers food assistance in emergencies, building a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. For its efforts to combat hunger and promote peace, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley is placing a spotlight with a megaphone on his message to warn world leaders that 2021 we will see food famines of Biblical proportions. Beasley says that there won’t be enough money in the budgets of many countries to implement food programs.
Severe surges of COVID-19 and the new mutated strain of the virus spreading around the world, the stay-at-home requirements, and other world catastrophes, including climate disasters, have disrupted major world economies and produced multiple ripple effects. A possible third wave of the virus and massive job layoffs everywhere bring more collapse of global food supply systems, with human starvation to follow.
Threat to the Food Supply Chain: Food industry employees have become sick. Disruptions are already occurring as farmers and distributors cut back on production. In many countries, the price of grains has skyrocketed, resulting in food riots. Major customers, including schools, restaurants, hotels and airlines, have ceased operations.
In the United States, all food services and delivery are deemed essential. Food processing and packaging involve very close interactions and thus make it high risk for spreading COVID. Large meat-processing plants employ hundreds to thousands of workers where many are coming down with the virus, thereby slowing and even stopping food production.
Unemployment and Widespread Human Migration: Households are running out of money. As hunger intensifies in crop scarce areas, families are forced to move to other cities and regions in search of food and, of course, income. In terms of spreading the virus, this makes a vulnerable situation even worse.
As noted in The Counter, a nonprofit, independent, nonpartisan, reader-supported newsroom, the United States is now experiencing a rapid increase in both food insecurity and hunger. It refers to a snapshot assessment led by the U.S. Census Bureau designed to offer immediate information on the social and economic impacts of COVID. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also notes that according to this Household Pulse Survey, some 29 million adults reported that their household sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in the last seven days. When asked why, 84 percent said they “couldn’t afford to buy more food” rather than (or in addition to) non-financial factors such as lack of transportation or safety concerns due to the pandemic.
Between 8 and 12 million children live in a household where children didn’t eat enough because the household couldn’t afford it. Behind this distressing data are people staring at empty kitchen cabinets, skipping meals, trying to console hungry kids, and having to make very heartbreaking decisions around staying in jobs that might increase their exposure to COVID.
Are you taking food seriously? Even before the coronavirus began to spread, about 135 million people around the world were on the brink of starvation. Now the number could climb to another staggering 130 million people. Food for thought: Weren’t lab-created GMOs (genetically engineered organisms) supposed to stop world hunger?
With the overwhelming number of people exposed to or having contracted COVID, a global food crisis may be in our reality. Genuine hunger and starvation here and around the world could be inevitable.
Long Island Cares, a member of the Feeding America network, is Long Island’s first food bank. Founded in 1980 by singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, Long Island Cares serves LI’s hungry and food-insecure populations and is one of the region’s most comprehensive hunger assistance organizations. Assisting thousands of Long Islanders and families in need, they distribute millions of pounds of food and supplies each year to nearly 400 member agencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, partnering with food pantries and soup kitchens across Long Island.
Location: 10 Davids Drive (Harry Chapin Way), Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: (631) 582- FOOD (3663) Email: info@licares.org
Island Harvest Food Bank has been leading hunger relief on Long Island since 1992 and also is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. They distribute fresh produce, meat and non-perishables throughout Long Island. In collaboration with a network of over 400 community partners, they provide assistance to thousands of individuals on Long Island daily through their innovative programs and services.
Locations: 15 Grumman Rd., West Suite 1450, Bethpage, NY 11714
40 Marcus Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788
Food Donations: David Sank, vice president of Operations and Logistics Phone: (631) 873-4775 Email: david@islandharvest.org
Gary Feldman, innovator in the nutritional supplement retail field, is a researcher, health writer, nutrition educator, lecturer and instructor in the Port Washington Union Free School District Continuing Education program. garyteach1@gmail.com
