Community Food Services Market Organizations Show Resilience Through The Coronavirus-Induced Food Insecurity Crisis

During a week that is largely centered around a hearty meal, it must be recognized that food security is threatened in the face of the pandemic. In the community food services market, establishments are primarily engaged in the collection, preparation and delivery of food for the needy. Feeding America is one such organization that has expanded its reach during the COVID-19 crisis.

With the economic fallout that arose from the coronavirus pandemic, there is a steady increase in need for food assistance. America’s largest hunger-relief organization, Feeding America, has seen a significant increase in families looking for assistance, many of which had never relied on such charity previously. Thus, this crisis can further worsen health inequalities for vulnerable communities.

However, relevant organizations are working harder in response to face these issues. JustGiving, a UK-based online fund-raising platform raised about $7,705.8 to provide emergency food for vulnerable, elderly, and low-income people during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. This has led to a greater supply for the industry’s food aid and social services, enabling industry organizations to meet the demand for food services. Increasing crowdfunding is thus projected to boost the community food services market. Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital from individual investors, customers, and the general public through crowdfunding and social media platforms. The global crowdfunding statistics published in May 2020 indicated a rapid growth in the crowdfunding market worldwide with China and the USA contributing 70.7% and 20.0%, respectively.

As per Global Market Model estimates, the global community food services market is expected to grow from $90.87 billion in 2019 to $95.37 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.96%. Although the global food trade was impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the community food services market was resilient. The requirement for emergency food for vulnerable, elderly, and low-income people during the COVID-19 crisis has boosted the market growth. However, due to the restrictive containment measures involving social distancing and the closure of industries and the disruption of the food supply chain, the growth is considerably low. The market is then expected to recover and reach $124.63 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 9.33%.