Congratulations to Prof. Judy Mitrani-Reiser and graduate student Xilei Zhao on their contributions to the recently published report examining risks and proposing solutions to Baltimore’s food supply.
After the unrest in Baltimore following the trial of Freddy Gray, Baltimore found itself without dozens of food-supplying stores due to damage, looting, or barricades, and police ordered supermarkets across the city to shut down early. This, in addition to school closures, deprived thousands of Baltimore students of their regular meals.
It was then that the city launched a new effort to improve food access during times of crisis. This report is part of a two-year process that led to the development of a formal set of policy guidelines and recommendations. It highlights risks the city faces from both human-made conflicts and natural disasters and also lays out a number of long-term strategies for protecting the food supply chain.
Read more about the report here.
Prof. Mitrani-Reiser and her research group work in the Systems area of the Civil Engineering Department, which encompasses all challenges that benefit from the perspective or knowledge-base of systems engineering.