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Dining out has for generations been a fun way to celebrate special occasions, meet friends or just enjoy a quiet evening with someone special. But for many, that ended almost overnight last year as the spread of COVID-19 shuttered businesses and forced people to stay home. The restaurants that survived scaled down and reworked their operations. Many have had to close permanently. Since March 2020, over 110,000 – or about one out of every six restaurants in the U.S. – have closed. This has affected not only individuals, but the overall economy. In 2017 the profits of the restaurant industry were estimated at US$800 billion, which experts expect have shrunk substantially in the past year. As a food historian, I follow the impact of global events on food culture and practices. Starting in l...

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed hardship on millions of vulnerable Americans through unemployment and reduced work hours. And this has increased food insecurity across the nation. CC BY-ND There is no official figure yet for how many more families are struggling to provide regular meals around the table – the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s next annual report on food insecurity, defined as a lack of access to sufficient food due to limited financial resources, won’t be out until the fall. But for me as an academic who has long tracked food insecurity trends, working out the increase in the number of people affected and projecting what will happen next is important. By understanding this, experts can work out whether what is occurring during the pandemic is likely to follow – or brea...

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How Dining Out Has Evolved Over 200 Years – From Haute Cuisine To Hot Dogs And Is Innovating Further In The Pandemic

9.8 Million Americans Have Been Pushed Further Into Food Insecurity Due To The Pandemic Recession