COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts

Buy now—to avoid garden seed shortages

Beginning mid-March of 2020, an unusual thing occurred—seed sellers were suddenly overwhelmed with orders from home gardeners (or would-be ones) concerned about pandemic food shortages and ways to spend time during quarantine. That skyrocketed demand has surfaced again this winter, with some seed companies reporting potential shortages for this year’s orders. “The demand has been […]

Organic produce sales top $8.5 billion in 2020, up 14% from 2019

Organic produce outpaced growth of conventionally grown produce in both sales and volume in 2020. The 2020 performance report from the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners reported an increase for organic of over $1 billion (from 2019) to $8.5 billion, up 14.2%. Conventional produce sales rose 10.7%. In volume, organic increased 16% with conventional […]

Organic food companies, distributor donate meals, dollars to alleviate pandemic-driven food scarcity

Over 13 million U.S. children are reportedly facing food insecurity since the COVID-19 pandemic began months ago. The percentage of Canadian households impacted is up 45% since last year. Key organic players are filling empty plates through meal packages and online sales revenues. KeHE, specialty distributor to 30,000 natural food and independent groceries, is working […]

Pandemic spawns new channels bringing farm-fresh food direct to consumers

As restaurant business plummeted during COVID-19, farmers and restaurants have sought ways to get food directly to customers through home delivery, meal kits, and online shopping. Chicago’s Fresh Midwest, restaurant food distributor, offers fresh meat and produce through home delivery. Shelly’s Fresh Picks (Niles, Illinois) has been delivering local farm food since 2006, but has […]

UK sees spike in organic food sales with pandemic

Organic foods and drinks went flying off the shelves these last months in the United Kingdom, peaking during the ten weeks of lockdown ending in May 2020. Organic bananas, eggs, chicken, and wine led the sales charge as organic sales doubled for the year ending 2020, by 6.1%. During the lockdown weeks, an 18.7% increase […]