What is the Food and Ag Industries’ Impact in Your Community?
The 2022 Feeding the Economy study underscores the resiliency and strength of America’s food and agriculture sectors. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the food and agriculture industries continue to add jobs, provide safe food, and feed the US economy in the face of global supply chain challenges and more. Together, these industries are responsible for roughly one-fifth of the country’s economic activity, directly supporting nearly 21.5 million jobs or more than 14% of U.S. employment.
It begins in the rich soil of America’s farms and ranches – more than 2 million of them – spread across the heartland and stretching to the coasts, covering two out of every five American acres.
Meanwhile, millions of food scientists, production workers, logistics experts, truck drivers and engineers work in more than 200,000 food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities, to keep our food supply chains resilient and fresh, safe food readily available worldwide.
The journey may conclude at one of the nation’s more than 1 million restaurant locations or make its way from one of over 100,000 retail grocers to American homes and gatherings where people enjoy the nation’s bounty.