EVEN TWO-PLUS YEARS REMOVED FROM THE PANDEMIC, OPERATORS NEED TO BE NIMBLE TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER CRISIS COMES NEXT.
A big takeaway from the COVID crisis is that food businesses must proactively ensure that their suppliers all along the supply chain are prepared and resilient. We saw firsthand what happened when the world wasn’t prepared for a global crisis, and we were shocked by the product shortages, supply chain disruptions, and rising prices.
Now that we’ve navigated a global pandemic, we’re facing a perfect storm of crises that are negatively impacting our food supply:
Climate change is drying up the Colorado River and Lake Mead—the main water sources for food crops in Arizona and California—and they could soon be out of water. California usually grows an abundance of produce, but extreme drought conditions are making it difficult to farm as usual, and will have a significant impact on these crops. Meanwhile, the Midwest is facing the opposite problem, with frequent floods washing away the topsoil needed to produce corn. Since the Midwest produces approximately three-quarters of the country’s corn supply, this is a major concern.