Two years ago this week, our lives began to unravel. We were faced with increased news of the deadly coronavirus, and we were left wondering just how it would impact the U.S. For many of us, we can vividly recall those dark weeks of March. Despite being early spring where budding trees abound, we were forced to watch our lives come to a screeching halt behind closed doors.
We know the foodservice industry has been hard hit. We watched the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically change the way we do business. From the manufacturer sales side, we went from conducting in person meetings to selling our products virtually or by phone. We witnessed unprecedented supply chain backlogs, and once business began to slowly reopen, we were forced to navigate a historic labor shortage. Despite all these challenges, I believe we persevered and we’re only getting stronger.
I am proud of the manufacturers we represent. Some of these examples include— shifting products from education to healthcare and innovating and developing new take-out delivery products that continue to meet the needs to today’s restaurants and consumers.
Our distribution partners played a key role in helping us deliver these products to the end-user. Our agility to shift and meet today’s market puts us in a positive position to move forward. As we reflect this month on what was, I am determined to think about what will be and all the possibilities that have yet to be uncovered.
I know life will never be what it was, but as I witness more states lift COVID-19 restrictions, I see a flicker of a past life. We’re witnessing consistent restaurant industry job growth, according to the National Restaurant Association’s FEBRUARY JOBS REPORT, the industry added 124,000 jobs last month. We are also seeing more Americans are traveling this spring, according to research from travel insurance provider Allianz Partners, spring break trips have increased 134 percent.
As we approach the two-year mark, let’s take this good news and continue to pour everything we have into supporting and growing the nation’s foodservice industry. We’re an industry of resilient innovators willing and ready!