The pandemic brought distinct challenges to the alternative, local food system through labor crunches, reduced purchasing power for farm and food workers, and rising local and global prices for food and fuel. Just when many local farmers and farm managers set their 2020 seasons in motion, they were forced to pivot with the rest of the food system amid socially distanced markets, closed schools, and closed restaurants. Some big school systems like California diversified their food options in order to source from local growers, effectively reinvesting federal assistance money into local diversified farms that could feed kids in the region.