Strengthening Food Systems Resilience Before, During and After Disasters and Other Crises

Abstract School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic compromised access to essential meals for many children. In response, a public/private partnership known as the Emergency Meals-to-You program was established to deliver meals in affected rural areas of the United States. This study builds on this using a scorecard approach adapted from the United Nations Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient to identify and prioritize actions for strengthening food system resilience. A pilot food system resilience scorecard facilitated data collection from five workshops with professionals familiar with the program, emergency management, public health, or food systems. Data analysis and interpretation identified nine priority actions. These included integrating the food sector and schools within emergency management, mapping local food sector capacities, working with schools to receive de-identified data about nutritional, allergy and other health needs, developing disaster plans for sustaining food access at the school district level, and protecting ecosystem services and agricultural areas. There is an urgent need to embed the food sector and schools within emergency management. These systems are local, designed to coordinate complicated tasks in crises, multidisciplinary, and are used in many countries. Providing a ready-made framework for locally driven initiatives to strengthen food systems now and into the future.