Healthy Food Retail during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Future Directions

Abstract

Disparities in dietary behaviors have been directly linked to the food environment, including access to retail food outlets. The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to major changes in the distribution, sale, purchase, preparation, and consumption of food in the United States (US). This paper reflects on those changes and provides recommendations for research to understand the impact of the pandemic on the retail food environment (RFE) and consumer behavior. Using the Retail Food Environment and Customer Interaction Model, we describe the impact of COVID-19 in four key areas: (1) community, state, tribal, and federal policy; (2) retail actors, business models, and sources; (3) customer experiences; and (4) dietary intake. We discuss how previously existing vulnerabilities and inequalities based on race, ethnicity, class, and geographic location were worsened by the pandemic. We recommend approaches for building a more just and equitable RFE, including understanding the impacts of changing shopping behaviors and adaptations to federal nutrition assistance as well as how small food business can be made more sustainable. By better understanding the RFE adaptations that have characterized the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope to gain greater insight into how our food system can become more resilient in the future.

Facilitating Healthier Eating at Restaurants: A Multidisciplinary Scoping Review Comparing Strategies, Barriers, Motivators, and Outcomes by Restaurant Type and Initiator

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Food Acquisition and Daily Life for U.S. Families with 4- to 8-Year-Old Children during COVID-19: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey

“…The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused sudden and drastic lifestyle changes across the globe. In the United States (U.S.), protection measures were implemented beginning in March 2020 to halt the spread of the virus, closing restaurants, businesses, schools, and child-care facilities around the country and sending more than 50 million children back to their homes to finish the school year [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Families’ day-to-day lives were upended, as many suddenly needed to provide child care and schooling at home, often in combination with remote work or job loss as unemployment rates increased [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Disruption in Chinese E-Commerce During COVID-19

“…As a result, the virus constrains customers to use the internet and develop it as a habit in their daily life (Abiad et al, 2020). Meanwhile, many challenges are encountered in e-commerce (Hasanat et al, 2020;Leone et al, 2020), such as extending the delivery time and improving the process of shipment. Some pandemic-related products, e.g., masks, disinfectants, and disposable gloves, are in very high demand.…”