From multiple streams to a torrent: A case study of food policymaking and innovations in New York during the COVID-19 emergency

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant effects on urban and regional food systems. Local administrations worldwide have been challenged to design and implement policies to mitigate immediate food system disruptions while planning for longer-term equity and resilience. The fast pace and high degree of uncertainty of the pandemic have made systematic tracking and assessment of food system change and related policy responses arduous. To address this gap, this paper applies the multilevel perspective on sociotechnical transitions and the multiple streams framework on policy change to 16 months of food policy (March 2020 through June 2021) during the New York State-issued COVID-19 state of emergency, comprising more than 300 food policies advanced by New York City and State legislators and administrators. Content analysis of these policies revealed the most salient policy areas during this period, the status of legislation, and key programs and budget allocations, as well as local food governance and the organizational spaces within which food policy operates. The paper shows that food policy domains that gained prominence focused on support for food businesses and food workers and on ensuring and expanding food access through food security and nutrition policies. Most COVID-19 food policies were incremental and were limited to the duration of the emergency, yet the crisis allowed for enactment of novel policies that deviated from the common policy issues or the typical scale of changes proposed pre-pandemic. Taken together, and viewed through a multilevel and policy streams framework, the findings provide insight into the trajectory of food policymaking in New York during the pandemic and the areas that food justice activists, researchers, and policy makers should focus on as the COVID-19 pandemic is abated.