Open AccessCOVID-19 and consumer demand for local meat products in South Carolina
Author(s) -
Steven T. Richards,
Michael Vassalos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of agriculture, food systems, and community development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2152-0798
pISSN - 2152-0801
DOI - 10.5304/jafscd.2021.103.004
Subject(s) - covid-19 , business , pandemic , food supply , agricultural economics , commerce , economics , outbreak , virology , medicine , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology
The emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the associated economic disruptions have challenged local food producers, distributors, retailers, and restaurants since March 2020. COVID-19 was a stress test for the U.S. local food supply chain, exposing vulnerabilities whose impacts have varied by region and sector. Some local producers saw sales fall in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions and consumer foot traffic changes (O’Hara, Woods, Dutton, & Stavely, 2021). In other areas, local food producers were able to pivot from collapsing market channels by finding opportunities elsewhere (Thilmany, Canales, Low, & Boys, 2020).