COVID 19 and the local food supply
- Monica Bradbury
- May 22, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 8
Food, Fear, and the Fragility of the Supply Chain
How many of you went to the grocery store when the pandemic first hit? I still remember that first trip vividly. I try to limit my time in grocery stores and, whenever possible, shop directly with local farmers—something I’ve written about often in previous posts. That day, however, I needed a few shelf-stable items I don’t normally keep on hand.
Walking into the store felt almost apocalyptic. Shelves were bare, carts were full, and the tension in the air was unmistakable. The panic was real and palpable. While I’m not a food hoarder, I do believe in keeping a thoughtful variety of shelf-stable foods to complement the fresh, local foods I grow or buy. As I moved through the aisles, I couldn’t help but wonder: how did we become so fearful about our food supply so quickly?
Here’s something worth remembering—food does not magically appear overnight. It takes months, sometimes years, for farmers to plan, plant, raise, and harvest what eventually lands on our plates. Once food leaves the farm, it passes through multiple stages of processing, packaging, and distribution before reaching the store. During the pandemic, Canada was not technically “out of food,” yet farmers were being forced to destroy crops, cull livestock, and dump milk. At the same time, grocery store shelves sat empty.
How can both things be true?
The answer, unfortunately, is simple: the system wasn’t built for disruption. There was not enough time, labour, or processing capacity to redirect food when parts of the supply chain shut down. I’ve linked several articles below that explain this in more detail, but the takeaway is clear—the industrial food system is far more fragile than most of us realized.
At home, my general rule of thumb is to eat foods I can pronounce, recognize, and trace back to their source. One of the easiest ways to do this is by supporting local farms or, at the very least, choosing Buy BC products at the grocery store. Shopping at farm gates or local markets also reduces exposure to crowds—something many of us became very aware of during COVID-19. Here on Vancouver Island, we’re fortunate to have a wide range of farms, from small family operations to larger producers.
Much of Canada’s food supply operates under a supply-management quota system. Farmers purchase quota for the right to produce a set amount of food at a regulated minimum price. Eggs, poultry, and dairy are all part of this system. I have personal experience with egg quota—my husband once farmed eggs for Vancouver Island. It gave me a firsthand look at how complex, and tightly controlled, this system really is.
Some of the local farms I continue to support within this system include Witta Farms, Springford Farm, and Qualicum Cheeseworks. You can find Witta Farms’ poultry at Country Grocery and Eat Fresh Urban Market in Parksville. When I visit Qualicum Cheeseworks’ farm-gate store, I often pick up cheese and eggs raised at Springford Farm in Nanoose. These connections matter—they keep food closer to home and money within our communities.
As we continue to navigate the realities brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic, I encourage you to pause and think about where your food comes from. The choices we make—especially during times of uncertainty—can either reinforce a fragile system or help build a more resilient, local one.
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