Food supply

USDA is seeking public comment about a process of building resilience into the food system to help withstand shocks like the covid-19 pandemic. You know, our food system broke down and we are in the process of rebuilding it, but we don't want to rebuild it to the old system that we had. This is our chance to rebuild it into something new and better and stronger and healthier and more equitable. That was Deputy Undersecretary Mae Wu. The next crisis might be another pandemic or it could be something driven by our changing climate. And so those are the types of things that we're trying to prepare for. She notes that it also could be something completely unforeseen. But that's what we want to prepare food system for, whatever it is that the next crisis is. More information can be found online at Federalregister.gov with the search for supply chains. The deadline for public comment is June 21st, 2021. There are areas that we are particularly interested in getting comments on. We want to hear about local and regional food systems. We want to hear about in a new market opportunities especially around like value added agriculture and products. We want to hear about fair and competitive markets, about how to advance efforts to transform the food system. How can we better meet the needs of the agricultural workforce? How can we better support and promote consumers', nutrition, security, especially for low income populations?