Nine Meals from Anarchy: A Planner's Role

This session will explore how planning can address hazard mitigation and food security. The UN Sustainable Development Goal “Zero Hunger” (SDG2), which aims to achieve food security by 2030, emphasizes equitable food access and security for all (United Nations, 2024). Yet, food insecurity is a pressing challenge that impacts millions, even within the United States (Feeding America, 2024). Natural disasters, pandemics and political unrest can suddenly take away a community’s availability of food and shelter. Chaos and rioting can occur when people's access to basic needs are disrupted. When natural disasters hit, vulnerable communities often lack reliable access to nutritious food, a situation exacerbated by disparities in distribution infrastructure. The flooding that occurred in 2019 in Fremont, Nebraska as the result of a bomb cyclone, empty grocery shelves during the pandemic and other disasters across the country will be explored to highlight the extent of the issues. Specific opportunities and actions that planners can take to enhance food security and mitigate the impact of natural disasters in their communities will be explored. This session will examine dramatic footage of communities cut off from their neighbors and how planning ordinances, policies and connective networking can mitigate those impacts.

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