Essential workers in kitchens and in agricultural settings are most at risk of death from the coronavirus, according to a study that adds a new urgency to the race to vaccinate those on the front lines of the pandemic. (The Hill)

Global competition for the ribbed steel containers means that Thailand can’t ship its rice, Canada is stuck with peas and India can’t offload its mountain of sugar. Shipping empty boxes back to China has become so profitable that even some American soybean shippers are having to fight for containers to supply hungry Asian buyers. (Bloomberg)

Frey Farms, headquartered in Keenes, has facilities in eight states. The farm’s owner Sarah Frey was the keynote speaker at the annual Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, put on virtually by the Illinois Specialty Growers Association. (Quad-City Times)

Citing a White House memo freezing decisions made late in the Trump administration for regulatory review, the Agriculture Department has announced it has suspended the processing and payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program — Additional Assistance and has halted implementation until further notice. (The Fence Post)  

Early Saturday morning, the semi-truck full of food from organization Farmers to Families arrived at Bernard Long Elementary in Madison, Illinois, where the community is making sure everyone goes home with a box of food. (FOX News)

Some of America’s biggest retailers are preparing to take a central role in administering Covid-19 shots, hoping to avoid logjams and other complications that have slowed the vaccine rollout’s early days. (Wall Street Journal)