Before you can put dinner on the table, the food must travel through a food supply chain. Every step in the supply chain is essential. Seeing rows of canned food in the grocery store may cause us to gloss over the path our food took to the store.
1. Food Makers
Our food starts at a farm, where it’s planted and reaped by farmers. Farm work is traditionally done by laborers and by the families of the farmers. Some farmers allow the public to come directly to the farm and buy fresh produce at produce stands.
Federal law allows workers as young as 12 to be farm laborers. When a young worker loses their parents, a court-appointed official must assume guardianship of that child. A potential guardian must show they are mentally competent to care for them and have the capacity to do everything they need. According to the ACLU, a potential guardian must demonstrate competence in all aspects of the child’s needs to be approved.
2. Food Processors
Food processors receive food from farms and put it into cans or containers. These processing plants are owned by the brand names we see on cans or containers of food. Some of these food processing plants specialize in preparing frozen foods. The foods may be plain produce or mixed into a meal or recipe.
Popular food brands pay close attention to trends in food styling and preparation. Their attentiveness helps them discover which types of products will be profitable. Food processors utilize computer analysts to find and monitor food trends. When a trend emerges (such as pumpkin spice or plant-based foods), food processors will capitalize on those trends.
3, Food Distributors
Food distributors are the “middlemen” in the food supply chain. When the food processor is finished, the food will be sent to the distributor for storage. Strategic planning is involved in which foods are sent to the distributor. For example, a few months before Thanksgiving, food processors will prepare extra cans and containers of cranberry sauce, gravy, and stuffing mix.
Warehouses may use golf carts to help their workers move quickly across the warehouse. According to Essentially Sports, the average golf cart operates at 15-20 mph. However, golf carts can go faster – as demonstrated by a recent custom golf cart, which achieved 118 MPH.
4. Grocery Stores
This step in the food supply chain is easiest for people to imagine. Most of us visit a grocery store at least once a week. Grocery store managers are responsible for stocking and selling the food in the stores. Managers are also responsible for keeping their buildings and employees safe.
A fire protection system is an essential safety precaution for grocery store managers. The national safety code NFPA25 requires fire protection systems to undergo regular inspections and testing. A grocery store manager is responsible for keeping track of and participating in these scheduled inspections.
5. Future Trends in the Grocery Supply Chain
There’s always room for improvement in any process, and the food supply chain is no exception. Some of the improvements can be made at the human level. At farms, warehouses, and grocery stores, wise managers encourage employees to take part in “internal branding.” The process of internal branding encourages employees to take pride in the store and convey that pride when interacting with customers.
Robotics are now in use in warehouses and processing plants. Artificial intelligence systems are now programming the assembly lines and assisting warehouse managers in wise methods of storage. These systems assist computer analysts in the strategic storage and distribution of food.
The next time you go to the grocery store, you may not think of the food supply chain. But, without every step on the food supply chain, your food wouldn’t be as readily available to you. The future will see many changes in the food industry, but the supply chain will still exist to bring food to your home.
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