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You are here: Home / Covid-19 Response: Let’s Localize Like Never Before
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Let's localize like never before
Answering the call to Covid-19

On this Covid-19 Response page we’ve outlined some actions you can take to support local communities both at the grassroots and policy levels during this time of crisis. We’ve also compiled examples of community solidarity in action during the pandemic, and provided links to our blogs and other articles for further reading.

The coronavirus outbreak has sent shockwaves through people’s lives. The world’s healthcare systems have become overwhelmed, and many loved ones have been lost. While some of us have been able to stay safe by working from home, others have been torn between the conflicting demands of economic necessity and personal health, and many people have lost their jobs. In many places, small and local businesses have borne the brunt of the economic impact.

Read more →

Meanwhile, our social lives have largely moved online – a poor substitute for the real thing. In times of turmoil, what we most long for are handshakes and hugs, not Zoom calls and Facetime. As we all navigate these new circumstances, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind.

Core features of the global economy – from habitat destruction and hyper-urbanization to factory farming and genetic manipulation – have heightened the risk of outbreaks like Covid-19. And economic globalization, long touted as an unstoppable force, is now revealed to be highly fragile: long supply chains that stretch halfway across the world easily break under this kind of strain. There have already been shortages of food and other essential goods.

To ensure that we are prepared to withstand future shocks in an age of economic instability and climate chaos, we need to think carefully about our social and economic systems. We need to recognize that the real economy is the living earth, and begin sowing the seeds of more ecological economies that treat people like members of a community, not numbers on a page. In short:

We need to localize like we’ve never localized before!

That means providing support to small businesses and community groups that are currently under so much stress. Since food is at the center of the entire economy, let’s begin by making sure that small, local farms remain lifelines in this time of need. Even when the current crisis is behind us, we’ll benefit from stronger local food economies – from local markets linked to diversified farms that provide healthy, nutrient-dense foods without poisoning the environment, eliminating jobs, or erasing biodiversity.

Resources to support small farmers and local food systems

International

How to Fix a Food Sytem That’s not Designed to Feed People by Debbie Weingarten, Huffpost

In times of pandemic, peasants are united to feed the people, La Via Campesina: #StayHomeButNotSilent

COVID-19 and the Crisis in Food Systems: Symptoms, Causes, and Potential Solutions: Communiqué by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems

Food Enterprises and Covid 19: Open Food Network

Australia

Australian Farmers Market Association Directory

Carriageworks Farmers Market Online Directory (Sydney area)

Local Food Connect (Melbourne)

Your Food Collective (Sydney and Newcastle area)

Europe

Covid-19: Latest Information and Updates: European Coordination Via Campesina

Community responses to COVID-19: ECOLISE

India

In response to Corona Times: Vikalp Sangam

Corona Emergency – Organic Food Sales

Gurgaon Organic Farmers Market Online

Mexico

Coatl Mercado Bioregional

La Cosecha Oaxaca

Mercado el 100 (Mexico City)

Mercado de las Cosas Verdes ‘Tianquiskilitl’

Red de Economías Populares y Autogestivas del Sur (Chiapas)

Tianguis Agroecológico y Artesanal ‘Comida Sana y Cercana’

Tianguis Alternativo de Puebla

Nepal

Kheti Food: Organic Vegetables Directly from the Farm

Kathmandu Organics: Organic Food Supporting Smallholder Nepali Farmers

Green Growth: Grocery Deliveries (Kathmandu)

USA

General:

Staying Connected and Supporting Our Fibershed Amid Coronavirus

What Can Consumers Do During the COVID-19 Crisis to Support Family Farms & Our Local Food System?: Community Alliance with Family Farms

Selling Direct & Online During the COVID-19 Crisis: Community Alliance with Family Farms

Supporting Alternative Sales Options for Direct to Market Farmers: RAFI USA

How to Increase Food Production in Your Community: Cooperative Gardens Commission

Sign-up form: Cooperative Gardens Commission

COVID-19 and the Slow Food Community

Slow Food Live Online Food Sessions

Slow Food Mutual Aid Database

Resource Guide for Institutional Food Systems and COVID-19 (Northeast USA)


Policy:

COVID-19 and its Impacts on the Farm and Food System: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Mitigating Immediate Harmful Impacts of COVID-19 on Farms and Ranches Selling through Local and Regional Food Markets: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

As Coronavirus Ravages Businesses, Small Farms and Independent Restaurants Rally for Economic Relief: Civil Eats

Food Workers are on the Frontlines of Coronavirus. They Need Our Support: Civil Eats


Community Supported Agriculture (CSA):

Find a Local CSA


Local Businesses:

Neighbor Loaves: Supporting area farmers, millers, bakers, and eaters: Grain Collaborative

Coronavirus Could Usher In A New Era Of Local, Sustainable Eating, by Olivia Paschal, Huffpost

How you can save locally-owned businesses: Institute for Local Self-Reliance


Farmers Markets:

Farmers Markets Respond to COVID-19 — Best Practices, Examples, and Resources (Farmers Market Coalition)
https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/covid-19-crisis-farmers-market-new-guidelines/

Farmers Markets Respond to COVID-19: Farmers Market Coalition

The Fight to Keep Farmers’ Markets Open During Coronavirus: Civil Eats

Farmers Markets Rally to Create Virtual Hubs for Hard-Hit Local Growers (Chicago)

Curbside Farmers Market Pickup and Local Food Home Delivery (San Francisco)

Seattle Farmers Market – Food delivery and pickup (Seattle)

Onchenda Open Global Food Cooperative (Utah)


Fisheries:

Local Catch press release.

Local Catch finder.


Young Farmers:

National Young Farmers Coalition Statement on COVID-19 and its impacts on young farmers

National Young Farmers Coalition COVID-19 Resources Library

UK

General:

Six Ways You Can Support Farmers during Covid-19: Landworkers’ Alliance

Defending and Securing our Food Supply: Sustain

Five ways to support our farmers in the time of COVID-19: Sustain

Coronavirus Food Alert: Sustain

COVID Mutual Support Produce Directory

How to support local food and drink businesses during the Coronavirus crisis: Local Food Britain

Coronavirus Support Page: Landworkers’ Alliance

Bristol Food Union


Policy:

Landworkers’ Alliance calls for measures to increase UK food resilience in light of Coronavirus outbreak

Landworkers’ Alliance calls for emergency “Land Army” package to protect our Local Food Supply

 


Farmers Markets:

London Farmers Markets


Fisheries:

How can we help our fishing fleet through coronavirus?: Sustain


Bakeries:

Real Bread Campaign – Map

Blogs on Covid-19

Find below a few of our most popular blog posts on the Covid-19 pandemic. To receive new blog posts directly in your email inbox, sign up now →

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Community and solidarity examples

Distributing Food

On Bali, Indonesia, the collapse of the tourist economy has led many people to turn to return to villages and develop livelihoods in the food economy, which is inherently more stable. Collective farms are emerging, and, as one farmer puts it ‘even though the tourism sector has collapsed, Balinese are not going to starve’. Read more: here.

In Mexico City, the disruption of global supply chains has served to bolster local indigenous farmers, who are bringing back the ancient Aztec tradition of growing food in chinampas, or “floating gardens”. These farmers are protecting cultural heritage, enhancing ecosystems and providing fresh, local food to residents. Now, they are seeing sales increase by 100 to 120 percent. Read more here.

In the Navajo nation, farmer Tyrone Thompson is helping people return to their agricultural roots by teaching and encouraging them to farm. According to one researcher; ‘There has been a surge in interest. Seeds were hard to come by. They flew off the shelves just as fast as toilet paper did’. Read more here.

World Central Kitchen is repurposing chef Jose Andres’ restaurant kitchens as soup kitchens, and building a movement to support other restaurants across the USA in doing the same. Check out their country-wide map of free meals from governments, nonprofits, and restaurants. One of Andres’ restaurants, Beefsteak Veggies, is also packaging up wholesale produce and staple goods for retail sale, in an effort to preserve supply chains with local farmers, and to alleviate crowding and shortages in larger grocery stores.

The city council of Victoria, British Columbia has expanded its urban food production program by temporarily reassigning some parks department staff to grow 50,000 to 75,000 seedlings to give to residents in May and June.

People all over the USA and Canada are repurposing Little Free Libraries (public book exchange sites) as food sharing points – like smaller versions of Community Fridges.

With the huge surge in demand for local fresh produce, small family farms in the USA and UK are selling record numbers of CSA shares; see these articles from Eater.com and Politico for more details.

The Chicago Farmer’s Market Collective is helping its vendors develop pickup, delivery, and CSA options for customers who are unable to go to the markets in person.

In an article titled “Farmers are among the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic”, a melon farmer in a village near Chennai, India reports that due to the lockdowns, he is now able to sell all of his produce directly to his neighbors, rather than to a chain of middlemen.

In the city of Cagayan de Oro, in the Philippines, activist group The Greenthumbers has successfully advocated with the local Archbishop to ask both clergy and worshippers to set up and communal gardens, and to call on those who have land to open their lots for planting vegetables and native alternatives to rice.

In Rome, Italy, a cooperative formed by formerly-exploited African migrants is working tirelessly to fill the increased demand for deliveries of fresh produce and yogurt for people on lockdown. The Guardian shares their story.

Volunteers with Feedback Global, which organizes gleaning groups across England, are recovering unpicked vegetables from fields around Kent, gathering unused food from closed cafes, restaurants, and wholesalers, and cooking it into meals for the community.

Supporting Vulnerable Communities

Hundreds of Mutual Aid Networks across the world are mobilizing volunteers to deliver essential items to and regularly check in on the elderly and others at high risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

  • Covid-19 Mutual Aid (UK)
    https://covidmutualaid.org/
  • Mutual Aid USA
    https://www.usacovidmutualaid.org/
  • Mutual Aid Hub
    https://www.mutualaidhub.org/
  • COVID-19 Mutual Aid Directory (USA)
    https://itsgoingdown.org/c19-mutual-aid/
  • Mutual Aid Offers and Goods – Common Good (USA)
    https://commongood.earth/members/mutual-aid-board/
  • Viral Kindness (Australia)
    https://viralkindness.org.au/

MN CovidSitters, started by a medical student in Minnesota, USA, has paired more than 350 student volunteers with healthcare workers to help them with childcare, grocery shopping, and whatever else they and their families need – and is inspiring other medical schools to do the same.

IDEP Foundation is helping families in Bali, Indonesia who were reliant on income from tourism by distributing buckets with a month’s supply of cleaning and hygiene products, staple foods, organic vegetable seeds, and educational materials about COVID-19.

Sharing Wealth

People in cities all over the USA have started virtual tip jars – simple spreadsheets with names and electronic payment options – to help laid-off restaurant staff.

The New Economy Coalition has put together a list of COVID-19 emergency funding sources to help workers across sectors whose livelihoods have been destabilized by the economic changes.

In Washington, DC, the Adams Morgan Business Improvement District has started a #restaurantbonds campaign to encourage people to invest their money in local businesses via gift cards rather than in corporate stocks and bonds.

Providing Medical Supplies

Members of the Barcelona Street Vendors’ Union in Spain, no longer able to work due to stay-at-home restrictions, have joined forces with a local clothing company to sew masks for healthcare workers. Proceeds from the masks go to a food bank serving – and highlighting the presence of – the often-invisible African migrant communities that comprise a majority of the union.

Several distilleries, including Spirit of York in Ontario, Canada has begun producing hand sanitizer locally and distributing it to their communities.

The new international network Open Source Medical Supplies publicizes designs of safe personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be manufactured by local communities. Within two weeks of its inception, 95+ local chapters, from Ireland to Indonesia, were at work sourcing open-source designs for PPE and medical devices, translating documents, and working out the logistics of manufacturing supplies locally.

Promoting Wellbeing

In Italy, Spain, and France, neighborhoods have coordinated rounds of applause for healthcare workers, clapping and cheering from their balconies.

In University Heights, Ohio, residents created a daily Time Out Together event, where they all go outside (maintaining a safe distance) at 6:30pm each day to say hello and feel a sense of togetherness.

In solidarity with their 80-year-old neighbor, a community in Madrid left a cake on her porch and sang “Happy Birthday” to her in unison from their windows. Watch the heartwarming video here.

Articles on Covid-19

Photo by GPJNews Mexico, UrbanMaiz

Pandemic Inspires a New Crop of Farmers: young urban Mexicans decided to learn to grow food themselves – GPJ News, 2022.

Photo courtesy of Amritpal Kaur, RNS News

From Farm Labor to Food Trucks: Sikhs adapt langar to serve the masses during a pandemic – by Asha Khan, RNS Religion News Service, 2022.

Photo by Max Saeling on Unsplash

Lessons from COVID-19: – US funds small abattoirs and independent meat processors, by Marianne Landzettel, 2022

Find more here →

Power in Seeds: Urban Gardening Gains Momentum in Pandemic
by AP News


From farm labor to food trucks: Sikhs adapt langar to serve the masses during a pandemic
by Asha Khan


We Will Survive the Coronavirus. We Need to Make Sure We Survive Ourselves.
by Ashish Kothari


Solutions to the Pandemic Are Hiding in Plain Sight
by Ashley Colby


Degrowth, Coronavirus and Self Isolation
by Brian Davey


The Coronation
by Charles Eisenstein


For whom the bell tolls: a Small Farm Future COVID-19 special
by Chris Smaje


What happens after Covid-19?
by Colin Tudge


Why Coronavirus Is Humanity’s Wake-Up Call
by David Korten


A degrowth perspective on the coronavirus crisis
Degrowth.info editorial team


Make no mistake: Agriculture alone has the potential to reboot the economy
by Devinder Sharma


Here and ready: the value of peasant agriculture in the context of COVID-19
by European Coordination Via Campesina


Agro-imperialism in the time of Covid-19
by GRAIN


Pandemic inspires a new crop of farmers
by Global Press Journal

Local People Have Had to Improvise during the Pandemic. Could their Solutions Stick?
by John Harris


CSAs Became a Lifeline in the Pandemic for Consumers and Farmers
Hawaii Business Magazine


What if Local and Diverse Is Better Than Networked and Global?
NY Times profile of Helena Norberg-Hodge


Organising Amidst COVID-19: Sharing Stories of Struggles
by Interface


The Only Treatment for Coronavirus Is Solidarity
by Jedediah Britton-Purdy


Spoiled Milk, Rotten Vegetables and a Very Broken Food System
by Jennifer Clapp


The Deeper Source of Grocery Panic
by Judith D. Schwartz


The Moment for Food Sovereignty is Now
by Katie Brimm


Why Now, More than Ever, We Need a Food System based on Food Sovereignty
by Landworkers’ Alliance


#StayHomeButNotSilent – In times of pandemic, peasants are united to feed the people!
by La Via Campesina


Coronavirus pandemic shows we need new ways to look after the Earth and each other
by Lindley Mease


The birth of Covid-19 mutual aid
by Marianne Brooker

Call to Action for the US Transition Movement
by Marissa Mommaerts


Lessons from COVID-19: US funds small abattoirs and independent meat processors
by Marianne Landzettel


No return to normal: for a post-pandemic liberation
by Max Haven


The Sickness in Our Food Supply
by Michael Pollan


A Dozen Asks for Your Governor
by Michael Shuman


Comparative Resilience: 8 Principles for Post-COVID Reconstruction
by Michael Shuman


The coronavirus pandemic and future food security
by Patrick Holden


Solidarity in a Time of Social Distancing
by Randall Amster


Pandemic Sees Sydneysiders Turning to Urban Farm to Buy Fresh Produce
by Reuters


The little shops that really are Britain’s cornerstone: Our defiant smaller stores still have all we need – and a human touch to help us through the crisis
by Robert Hartman


A virus, humanity, and the earth
by Vandana Shiva


Coronavirus and the Death of ‘Connectivity’
by Walden Bello


Four ways COVID-19 will change food systems and food security
by Wayne Roberts


Stepping Up: As government leaders bungle the coronavirus response, there’s hope in mutual aid
by Whitney Curry Whimbish

More about localization

Planet Local: A Quiet Revolution

This film gives voice to dozens of people building a more beautiful world. Featuring figures like Russell Brand, Vandana Shiva, Naomi Klein, and others. (50 minutes)

Watch now →

LOCAL: A Story Of Hope

This video points to the global economy as the root cause of our social and environmental crises, and proposes a systemic solution. (8 minutes)

Watch now →

Local Food Can Save The World

Looks at the many environmental, social and health costs of the global food system, and the multiple benefits of local food economies. (3 minutes)

Watch now →

Planet Local: A Quiet Revolution

This film gives voice to dozens of people building a more beautiful world. Featuring figures like Russell Brand, Vandana Shiva, Naomi Klein, and others. (50 minutes)

Watch now →

LOCAL: A Story Of Hope

This video points to the global economy as the root cause of our social and environmental crises, and proposes a systemic solution. (8 minutes)

Watch now →

Local Food Can Save The World

Looks at the many environmental, social and health costs of the global food system, and the multiple benefits of local food economies. (3 minutes)

Watch now →

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