Food banks plead for help: 'There's only so much we can do'

Food banks and anti-hunger advocates have begun petitioning Congress to increase food stamp benefits to make it easier for families to gain access to groceries without waiting in the long lines that are now commonplace at food aid institutions nationwide. Recent data shows that the U.S. is experiencing some of the highest food insecurity numbers ever recorded, but SNAP has been largely left out of federal aid programs. Thus far Republicans have repeatedly rejected a proposition by the anti-hunger community to increase food stamp benefits by 15% (roughly $25 per recipient per month) until unemployment rates go down. Read more at Politico...

Kroger beefs up grocery ecommerce push with 3 new fulfillment centers

Kroger is set to construct three new delivery fulfillment centers in the Pacific Northwest, West and Great Lakes regions to bolster its budding "ecommerce ecosystem." The retailer will implement robotics technology including automation and AI in partnership with tech company Ocado to delivery a wider variety of goods to more customers via online orders. Read more at Fox Business...

Forty percent of Americans have taken extremely unsafe measures to sanitize their food and kitchens

A new report indicates that many shoppers are unintentionally making themselves and their families ill while trying to ward off the novel coronavirus. About 1 in 5 Americans have, for example, attempted to clean their produce with bleach, and 4% have consumed disinfectants such as Axe. However, Americans' heightened concern regarding the cleanliness of surfaces should be channeled into a concern for respiratory droplets that result in contamination when two people are in close quarters, as this is what scientists have determined is the primary driver of the spread of the virus. Read more at The Counter...

New Jersey is the first state to add climate change to its K-12 education standards

New Jersey's new education standards require students as young as five years old to begin learning about climate change. It is the first state to include the topic in its K-12 learning standards; the state's first lady Tammy Murphy pushed for the standards because, she argued, the current generation of students "will feel the effects of climate change more than any other, and it is critical that every student is provided an opportunity to study and understand the climate crisis through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary lens." Read more at CNN...

In the post-pandemic world, your boss knows if you washed your hands

Hand scanners that monitor the frequency and effectiveness of employees' handwashing may be the future for those working in the food sector. While this is a seemingly dystopian measure, the CDC has reported that the spread of germs from hands to food accounts for 89% of outbreaks in which food was contaminated by workers. Read more at Fast Company...