COVID-19 and Food Law: Events

A webinar discussion hosted by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Every week, we'll be going live in a broadcast series about how to build a better post-COVID food system. Join us to listen to a powerful group of leaders from different parts of the food system share their knowledge and get involved in building a better food system.

The presentation is meant to offer general guidance and thought leadership across the food & agriculture industry (including those in the production, processing, and distribution of food and agricultural products, to the associations and agencies that represent them, as well as the companies that supply and support them). We will moderate a panel presentation that will include our Food & Ag Co-Chair Dale Stern, Employment Partner Cass Ferrannini, and Public Agency Partner Rebecca Smith.

In 2020, the James Beard Foundation launched the Open for Good campaign to help the restaurant ecosystem survive the unprecedented crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a webinar on Friday, June 19 with a virtual panel discussion on COVID-19 effects on the food and agricultural system, which has experienced severe stress from a combination of factors. Workers’ health has been placed at risk, producers have lost markets, and animals and crops have been sacrificed. Meanwhile, food prices are on the rise and unemployed Americans have turned in greater numbers than ever to overstressed food banks. A panel of distinguished participants in the food and agricultural system offered perspectives on the impacts and how we can learn from them.

Hosted by Vermont Law School

Exploitation, heat exhaustion in a warming climate, and a heightened risk of COVID-19 are among the many challenges farmworkers face—often magnified by undocumented immigration status. Why does the law fail to protect these essential workers, and how can advocates step in where the law falls short? In this episode we speak with a Vermont-based farmworker from Mexico, activists at the organization Migrant Justice, and Vermont Law School Associate Dean Jenny Rushlow to find out.

FRONTLINE examines how the COVID crisis has hit vulnerable immigrants and undocumented workers. The documentary follows the coronavirus pandemic’s invisible victims, including crucial farm and meat-packing workers who lack protections and have been getting sick.

Did you know that African American farmers represent just 2% of our nation's farmers? This stark statistic is a result of a multitude of systemic issues related to land inequity including vast health disparities, food insecurity, housing discrimination, voter suppression, and mass incarceration.

ReOpen is a short-format documentary series that gives viewers a window into the difficult decisions that restaurant chefs and owners are making every day to try and provide hospitality, keep diners safe, and save their businesses during a global pandemic. Each episode focuses on a different restaurant -- how they’ve survived during the shutdown, their thoughts on the government’s response to the pandemic, and where they go from here.

Will COVID-19 change our food system for good? Increased coronavirus outbreaks in food markets, food plants, and farmworker communities have impacted food access and put a spotlight on food insecurity. Farmers are hurting as supply chains for fresh, perishable foods shrivel. Meanwhile, food banks have seen a surge in demand that has required distribution support from the National Guard.