Yesterday, I ventured out into the pandemic-stricken world for my weekly grocery shopping. I drove to one of the stores I frequent, located in an older shopping center, and was dismayed to see one of our favorite local eateries had been razed to the ground. As I shopped, I noticed grumpy customers frantically snatching up food for the holidays. The store clerk who was replenishing the winter squash clearly had been hit with sudden restocking needs—no pie pumpkins left. The frozen meat grocery man was definitely perturbed trying to restock the turkey freezer, and I overheard him angrily tell a customer that people were snatching turkeys as fast as he could put them there. The baking ingredients aisle was almost empty of flour.
Yes, our food world has shifted dramatically. With the pandemic crisis, perhaps it is time to rethink how and what we eat. We are already shifting away from eating out multiple nights a week, toward home-cooking and relearning how to make simple things from scratch. In my household, we have implemented meatless Mondays, in remembrance of those risking their lives to work in meat-packing plants.
A crisis can lead to a better life for all, but it is now worrisome to see that one in five Americans are suffering from hunger and food insecurity, a problem made worse by the pandemic. We as a society ought to strive to make our local areas more resilient, less reliant on a food supply that is inaccessible, expensive, and not so great for the planet’s ecosystems. I don’t believe the answer lies in foodbanks and other emergency hunger “stop gaps”. I want to hear what other ideas people have, but for now I am energized to read that there is a city in Brazil, Belo Horizonte, that has a new model for feeding its citizens. To read about the food plan in Belo Horizonte, follow these links to articles in Yes! magazine:
Yes! This City Made Access to Food a Right of Citizenship
Yes! This City Makes Sure No One Goes Hungry--Even During Covid
Essentially, the city made access to healthy food a right of citizenship. The city implemented a number of measures to connect its people with local growers, and started a network of “public restaurants”. I have heard of such restaurants in China and India, and wonder if we could ever envision something like this in America. What do you think?