The impacts of a global pandemic on our nation’s food/nutrition system ripple throughout communities of all sizes. Simultaneously, farmers are losing markets and plowing under crops while demand for nutritional assistance skyrockets as the economy destabilizes. Rural and urban counties are the battery – the supply and demand – of our nation’s food system and require a strong federal partner in facing these challenges head-on. This session will examine the local perspectives and federal resources aimed at strengthening our nation’s food and nutrition system in the wake of a public health crisis.