Anuradha Bezwada
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Carissa Knox
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Center for Sustainable Systems / SNRE
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Anna Bezwada, Carissa Knox
Presenter: 3
Abstract
The city of Flint, Michigan has faced many shocks in recent history. Loss of manufacturing jobs and decades of economic disenfranchisement followed by the Water Crisis left the city with a resilient emergency food system but also high poverty rates and health concerns. These aspects of the food system in Flint created uncertainty about how the catastrophe of COVID-19 would be managed. To explore the pandemic’s effect on Flint’s food system and strategies for recovery, we collected fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) through semi-structured interviews with individuals who have expertise on the Flint food system. We used qualitative coding of interview transcripts and aggregated fuzzy cognitive maps to create a model of the food system and the impacts of COVID-19. The overall effect of COVID-19 on the food system is very negative; there was a decrease in availability and food security, and an increase in the use of the emergency sector. The ability of the emergency sector also increased because of increases in funding/grants and partnerships between organizations in the food system. High prevalence of emergency food and decreased demand led to a decrease in local restaurants and food businesses. Critically, many interviewees noted that Flint’s previous experience with crises such as the water crisis increased the resilience of the emergency sector and improved Flint’s ability to handle COVID-19 and potentially future crises.
Environmental Studies, Interdisciplinary
