Watch: The food supply chain breakdown

The coronavirus has forced the entire world into disarray, but the food industry in particular. With restaurants closing or reshaping business models around slimmed-down take-out menus, the dominoes are starting to fall for the farmers who suddenly have nowhere to take their food. And, at the same time, as more people find themselves out of work, food banks are teeming with hungry families. But getting food from fields to the hungry families that need it isn’t as simple as it sounds.

 

Manuela Tobias, Fresno Bee reporter and contributor to CalMatters’ statewide “California Divide” collaboration, moderates a conversation at noon on Friday, May 1, on the state’s food supply chain and where it’s breaking down.

 

With national headlines about meat processing plants being shut down, milk being poured down the drain, and hundreds of people lining up daily at food banks, we’ll talk with people familiar with the situation about where the breakdowns are, why they’re happening, and how they can be resolved.

 

Panelists:

 

1. Cannon Michael, president of Bowles Farming Company in Los Banos

2. Anja Raudabaugh, CEO, United Western Dairies

3. Jaclyn Pack, food acquisitions manager for the Central California Food Bank