What Was Covid’s Impact on Chicago’s Food Industry?
The Chicago region is a leading employer in the food and beverage industry, and is known for its excellent local restaurants. But how has the pandemic impacted the food industry in Chicago? Has the pandemic led to an increased rate of food business closures across the city?
Covid & Closures Heading link
A recent report, Covid & Closures: The Impact of the Pandemic on Chicago’s Food Industry, by Voorhees team member Karen Liu-Yates explores these questions using geographic information systems (GIS) spatial analysis to discover patterns of geographic concentrations of food business closures. As the South and West sides of the City are subject to higher likelihoods of existing food deserts, the report posits that these closures pose larger risks to these communities; thus understanding these patterns is essential.
Using data on Chicago Food Business Licenses, the report finds that, though there were more food business closures in high-income areas such as the Loop and Lake View, a higher percentage of food businesses closed in lower-income areas on the South and West sides.
Covid & Closures: The Impact of the Pandemic on Chicago’s Food Industry found that a total of 385 food businesses closed in Chicago during the year of COVID-19 from April 2020 through April 2021; The Voorhees Center continues to explore how food and food closures effect communities in Chicago during Covid and beyond. Alternative and creative food systems are emerging across Chicago to fill the gaps of the traditional food industry. From the inequities of PPP loan distribution to new and emerging food systems, our upcoming Food for Thought project will track different food businesses throughout the City. In the meantime, learn more about food business closures by downloading the report below.