Today’s quick hits, April 2, 2020

Food banks implore USDA to change protocols (Washington Post): Although food banks are seeing a major increase in demand, the USDA has delayed an administrative change that would allow food bank staff and volunteers to distribute food faster and more safely.

Trader Joe’s workers speak out (BuzzFeed): Employees at Trader Joe’s say the company isn’t taking enough precautions to sanitize stores even after staffers are diagnosed with Covid-19.

Is that restaurant closed? (Chef’s Pencil): An interactive map created by Chef’s Pencil tracks restaurant closures around the world due to the coronavirus.

Coronavirus spreads in rural areas (Daily Yonder): The number of coronavirus cases in rural America is rising at nearly the same rate as in cities, around 15 percent a day, according to a USAFacts tally, and 55 percent of rural counties have reported at least one case of Covid-19, compared to 96 percent of urban counties.

Plenty of wheat and rice (IFPRI): Global supplies of staple crops such as wheat and rice stand at normal levels, so there is no need for countries to consider restrictions on food exports because of the coronavirus pandemic, write four analysts.

The chicken comes long before the eggs (Purdue): Urbanites thinking of buying chicks as a way to assure a supply of eggs during the pandemic need to know that chickens don’t lay eggs until they are five to six months old and that they will need shelter and feed as they grow, says an assistant professor of animal sciences.