By Matthew Allen-Morgan

At Thunderbird Clubhouse, meals are designed by members and staff together. Planning, shopping, ordering, storing, and preparing meals—along with every other aspect of operating our commercial kitchen—are handled together by all Clubhouse colleagues. Through unit meetings and strategic planning sessions, the path of food from its pickup to being served at the Clubhouse is well established. 

But how does food get to the grocery store? How does it get to the food bank? How else can the Clubhouse obtain food?

The journey of food destined for a grocery store requires the coordination of thousands of individuals working for dozens of companies and organizations. It begins at the farm or field where produce is harvested or at the facilities where processed foods are manufactured, then moves immediately into a system of processing, packaging, and sorting facilities. Products are then transported via a local, regional, national, and/or international network of distributors and distribution centers that manage inventory and hold the product at temperatures that discourage spoilage. Some products have a very brief shelf life, which means the system depends on nearly flawless coordination and execution. Regional food banks may receive food at any point in this process. Commercial farmers may donate directly to food banks. Distributors and food retailers often donate food that is near-date (close to, but not past, the best by/expiration date) or overstocked.

The scale of the food distribution system combined with the common equipment used for transportation means that commercial food production carries the risk of cross contamination—a risk that has been realized recently with the cyclosporiasis and salmonella outbreaks. 

The USDA is the federal agency responsible for monitoring the safety of meats and most other animal products, and the FDA is responsible for ensuring that plant-based foods are safe. The long numbers you see printed on packages of the food you purchase are often identification numbers used by these agencies to track the product from its point of origin to the final retailers—often spread across an entire region or country.

If public health officials notice a sudden increase in foodborne illness, those agencies may begin to look for places at which those affected had eaten or purchased food. When the FDA or USDA discovers which retailer(s) or distributor(s) are associated with the pathogen, the work then becomes identifying the specific foods that are contaminated.  To do this, officials will interview people confirmed to have contracted the illness and ask for as much information as possible about all the foods that the affected person had eaten and where they had visited.

After the specific food products are identified, the FDA or USDA decides if enough of the product is affected to require the manufacturer/distributor to issue a recall. 

The recent cyclosporiasis, salmonella, and E. coli outbreaks display just how important these agencies are, and what can happen when they’re starved for resources. The current administration has championed staffing cuts at the USDA and FDA—which have lost over 20,000 employees and 4,332 employees, respectively. Industry expert Marion Nestle—Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita at New York University—states that the recent cuts to the funding and staff at these regulatory agencies are tied directly to the recent uptick in foodborne illness.

One way that Thunderbird Clubhouse might limit our exposure to the consequences of regulatory changes is to restart our backyard garden. By reducing the amount of people and equipment that come into contact with our food—we can reduce our exposure to foodborne illness.