Crisis, Hope and The Headline: Agenda Setting in England’s Covid Food Story

Panic buying during Covid was a crisis of perception as much as supply. This paper builds on the mixed method content analysis of 209 articles and accompanying images from six high circulation English newspapers, March to July 2020, setting it in the context of calls for civil food resilience and the UK national food strategy. The research shows how the press framed food access, responsibility and risk at a pivotal turning point. Sensationalised language appeared in 89% of articles, 68% carried