You may find yourself short of one type of food (such as fruit) and with extra of another type (such as grain). This is common at the beginning of the game.

Consider transporting extra food. Industrial workers who demand a food you are short on can still survive on the unwanted extra food, even though they will refuse to work on that turn. The alternative is starvation and the permanent loss of the worker.

If you don't need the extra food for the workers, it can be made into canned food on the industry screen. Canned food is useful as a food reserve and for encouraging migration from the countryside to serve your industry.