GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Researchers from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will join scientists from Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business (FGCU/LCOB) to summarize progress and share initial impressions from their six-month study of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on Florida’s food system. These findings are the focus of FGCU’s 2nd Annual Agricultural Forum, a virtual meeting on Nov. 18.
The event is hosted by the Center for Agribusiness within FGCU/LCOB and will “kick off” Farm-City Week, Nov. 18-25.
The presentation will summarize dozens of interviews with key players in Florida’s agribusiness supply chain. The project represents a collaborative effort to capture the personal impacts and challenges to Florida’s agriculture and food system operations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the results of this research and analysis will be used to inform decision making at the industry, state and national levels to improve practices and logistics and to ensure the sustainability of the state’s food system in the face of unexpected events that may arise in the future.
WHAT: Florida Gulf Coast University’s 2nd Annual Agricultural Forum, featuring a presentation on a joint project with UF/IFAS faculty on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Florida’s food producers and distributors.
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 18, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
WHERE: Find the Zoom meeting information at floridafarmbureau.org/uf-fgcu-covid-ag-supply-chain
—Kirsten Romaguera, UF/IFAS