Washington State has stocked its new food warehouse amid continued and surging demand for food, to prepare for the months ahead…
The new stockpile is driven by two major factors: A nearly doubling in demand for food assistance across the state and a national food supply chain that is bogged down amid an overwhelming surge in demand.
Seattle Times
Not only is Washington State stockpiling food, so are other states, even the federal government. The reason is obvious, the governments response to COVID-19 has created a massive crisis where millions of Americans lost their jobs which cut off their ability to provide for themselves.
That economic pain still exists. In fact, the “official” unemployment rate stands at 10.2%. With lockdowns still in place and social distancing guidelines placed upon the people, this is unlikely to change.
This has created a massive need for food and general assistance. In Oregon, cars stretching out for 1 mile waited in line hoping to receive something to eat. In Texas, cars stretched out for 2 miles hoping for the same.
A Shortage In The Months Ahead
This story becomes a bit more disturbing…
After seeing food banks struggle to meet demand once the pandemic hit and the economy tanked, the Washington state Department of Agriculture (WSDA) began preparing to buy and stockpile tons of food to ward off a shortage in the months ahead.
So a little more information begins to spill out. Not only does the food warehouse exist for the current crisis, but for a future crisis, “a shortage in the months ahead”. This begs the question…
What exactly are they expecting to occur?
Let’s face it, with millions of people out of work. COVID-19 lockdowns and the Federal Reserve printing money like it’s going out of style. More economic pain is around the corner, which will no doubt include more food shortages.
In fact, numerous companies are already filing for bankruptcy with many more on the way. This will compound the economic pain and some mainstream media outlets are warning, The Next Global Depression Is Coming.
Then We Have, Natural Disasters
The Midwest was recently devastated by a “derecho” which is a massive windstorm. This damaged millions of acres of farmland.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said Tuesday that about 10 million acres of Iowa’s nearly 31 million acres of agricultural land sustained damage. About 24 million acres of that is typically planted primarily with corn and soybeans.
Fox News
A full one third of farmland was damaged in the state of Iowa alone which produces corn and soybeans. This will certainly affect food prices and potentially avaliblity.
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Food shortages can happen, even in this country, and remember, this is 2020 where anything can and does happen.
Recent Food Shortages
Months ago, I recall hearing a lot about food shortages during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Remember all the reports about supply chains breaking?
Tyson foods was shut down due to COVID. Other reports explained farmers were tilling crops under, dumping milk, and slaughtering animals as there was no way to process such harvests.
In the end, we did see shortages in the store. Meat was typically in low supply, toilet paper was non-existent, and numerous other food items like rice and beans were unavailable or in very low supply.
Officials assured the public, food was available. The problem was people were panic buying and exhausting store shelves before they could be resupplied. We witnesses that during our shopping experiences with shopping carts stacked beyond normal buying habits.
In the end, their words held true. After weeks of empty store shelves, people had filled their cabinets and the rush for supplies was over and store shelves returned to normal.
Not Ordinary Days
I realize these are not the typical discussions we have in the United States, the land of plenty. However, these are also not ordinary days. With each passing day, new precedents are set, therefore, our mind should be set to expect the worst, and hope for the best.
We should also remember, it is the mainstream media’s job to scare the people so they cannot think rationally. That has always been the case. Christians do not go for scare tactics, but Christians do analyze the facts and make logical decisions.
Above all, keep God close to your heart and in constant prayer through these difficult times.