Research

Climate-related disasters are one of the most pressing economic threats to communities across the United States. The effects of climate hazards on human life, community infrastructure, household budgets, and local economies and their increasing costs is a salient concern for policy and decision makers.

In recent years, the U.S. federal government has launched a range of tools designed to assist federal agencies in targeting resources and grant funds towards disadvantaged communities. These tools add to an expanding landscape of vulnerability maps and indices that aim to help with identifying the spatial distribution of these communities and understand the drivers of social vulnerability within specific geographies.

When a disaster strikes, people already living with increased food needs are pushed to request additional food assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented demand for charitable food while also causing disruptions in the supply chain.