FFAR’s COVID-19 Pandemic Research
We are committed to filling research gaps and providing everyone access to nutritious food. This commitment is essential during the COVID-19 pandemic as the need for food assistance increases at an exceptional rate. To mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on our food system, we provided supplemental funding for research and insight.
We awarded a $1 million grant to Feeding America to assess how food banks use various supply chains to provide food for communities. Feeding America is compiling quantitative data to evaluate how food systems and emergency food systems operate and adapt in times of urgency. Learn more about this research.
In the United States, an average of 30 percent of food is wasted, which has a significant economic impact and threatens food security. Efforts to reduce food waste must involve changes across the entire food system, not just individual habits. We funded a consensus study report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine that examines the cultural and societal patterns of food waste among consumers. Learn more about this report.
The disruption between suppliers and consumers resulting from the pandemic underscores the need for better real-time monitoring and reporting of the status of the food supply chain to prevent or mitigate food crises. FFAR awarded a grant to Purdue University to create a series of open-access online dashboards that quantify and illustrate potential disruptions to the food supply chain. The dashboards will focus on COVID-19 but have the flexibility to be tailored to suit future market disruptions. Microsoft is also supplying cloud technology, business intelligence, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. Learn more about this research.
Our Scientific Program Director of Advanced Animal Systems, Dr. Tim Kurt, provided insight on how COVID-19 exemplifies the significance of zoonotic research, which studies diseases that spread from humans to animals. Dr. Kurt emphasized the importance of zoonotic research in understanding and mitigating COVID-19 as well as future pandemics. Read more on this Insight.
FFAR’s Veterinary Student Research Fellowship program supports student research on agricultural productivity, public health and environmental sustainability. Beginning with the 2020 cohort, FFAR adjusted the parameters of the fellowship to include zoonotic and pandemic research.
The COVID-19 pandemic intensified food and nutritional insecurity in vulnerable communities across the United States. Our Scientific Program Director of Urban Food Systems, Dr. John Reich, and Rebecca Gyawu shared thoughts on understanding emergency food systems during the pandemic. Read more on this Insight.
Among the consequential effects of the pandemic that the US faces, the ability to provide food resources for low-income families has been greatly impacted. Recipients of our Tipping Points grant shared findings on the factors affecting the success of emergency food programs in several cities. Read more on this Breakthrough.
When Denver Public Schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the District had to make a quick decision about how to adapt its feeding program to ensure low-income students remained fed. Colorado State University researchers explored how Denver’s school feeding programs are supporting low-income families during the pandemic. Read more on this Insight.