Has the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program made a difference in fresh produce market conditions?
It is likely too early to tell, but here are some charts that might give us a big picture view.
Other links of interest:
The USDA has published some statistics on “COVID-19 Effects on Refrigerated Trucking Volumes, Rates, and Availability.”
From the report:
The top four commodities by volume during the months of April to June over the past 5 years (2016-2020) were potatoes, watermelons, dry onions, and apples, and each of these commodities shows unique Covid-19 effects.
Potatoes increased significantly in mid-March 2020 but declined to normal levels through April. Dry onions and apples closely followed the total trends seen above, spiking mid-March, falling to a low point toward the end of the month, but rising closer to normal levels in April. Watermelons showed the least influence of Covid-19 trends, not significantly deviating from prior-year March and April volumes.
