I like the idea of growing food in your own backyard, or in community gardens. I always like to have some veggies and a few fruit and nut trees growing around me. When I haven't had land I've had ridiculous container gardens

. However, I've never had to rely on these as my sole source of food.
I think the original question was about food shortages for birds/animals specifically, because the conditions in OP's area were not allowing the usual crop production, and were not predicted to get better. Chicken feed doesn't keep very well. A lot of the crops grown in the US are used for animal feed and when there's a disruption in production process there might be a shortage, if I'm understanding correctly. I feel so lucky to be able to go to the store for food needs, but it keeps me separated from what's really going on.
For humans it's easy enough to stock up on canned foods and dried beans and rice... a lot of people recommend having two weeks of whatever supplies you need on hand in general.
I agree with you that people need to not panic and look after each other, especially the elderly. However, while the most recent viral outbreak could trigger production issues, I don't think that's the crisis we are talking about here. For me it's more of, what will I do if the price of grain suddenly doubles, and I'm unable to afford my chickens? What will other people do? It is probably good to have some sort of back up plan. I'd love to hear from anyone who knows more inside information about what's going on (not with the virus, but with crop production and food shortages.)