HNN editorial April 2020
| Washington’s big stimulus measures have yet to deliver much relief on the streets of the Harlem’s ofUrban America , where the pain was already acute, especially among African Americans living from paycheck to paycheck , food stamps and with little or no savings. Margaret Dickens a Harlem resident commented “ Shuh’ if Washington wants to help the people of Harlem and the poor put some money in our food stamp account so we can eat, they can do that tomorrow” Hunger will be the next Corona virus. The poor can not wait.The NY times report illustrates our position |
| To see the evidence, look at the nation’s food banks. |
| Demand for food assistance is skyrocketing, just when the food banks are coming up short of both provisions and volunteers. Many of the restaurants and other organizations that typically donate food have shut down. Grocery stores have less unsold inventory to give because panic buying has stripped their shelves. |
| As a result, many food banks are burning through their budgets to buy food that they used to get for nothing — and in some places, turning to the National Guard for help distributing it. |
| Farm-to-compost: The pandemic is playing havoc with food producers, too, especially those who supplied restaurants, schools and resorts that have closed. Unsold crops are rotting in fields. Dairy farmers are having to dump milk. Meatpacking plants are shutting down because so many workers have gotten sick. |
| The crisis has hammered the farm-to-table movement, which channels the produce of local farms directly to restaurants and consumers. Losses could run as high as $689 million, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. |