Observations and suggestions during COVID-19: Harnessing pre-existing elements to increase food security

Founded in 2019, Lettuce Harvest Foundation (LHF) is a grassroots urban agriculture nonprofit organization based in Vancouver, Canada. As an organization just launching as COVID-19 took hold, LHF’s programming has been designed to enable urban agriculture in light of the pandemic’s challenges. This article presents observations and suggestions gained from LHF operations as an organization with limited resources. When COVID-19 put stress on the global food system, it revealed that short-term emergency food relief is insufficient, indicating an urgent need for redesign­ing our food system. Harnessing pre-existing industry elements for accessible resources is one proposed method that grassroots organ­izations can adopt to mitigate strains on our food system inflicted by COVID-19 and other future crises.