Climate chaos is here. So here are questions or topics, one per week, about something every one of us is likely to face. Let’s see if we can figure out ways to deal with them together.
Week One’s question was Do You Stay or Do You Go?
Week Two: What Is Your Timeline?
Week Three: What Skill Do You Need To Learn?
Week Four: How Will You Deal With Flooding?
Week Five: What About Potable Water?
Week Six: Got Energy?
This week’s question is What Are Your Preparations For A Food Emergency?
We’re looking at short-term emergencies this week.
Here are our short-term food preparations
Earthquake preparedness recommendations are for 3 days food/water/medications for all members of your household (including any animals). But, even in Japan with similar tectonic conditions and building codes to CA’s, it still took longer than 3 days for help to reach some affected areas in Kobe after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. So we have more than 3 days worth of food on hand, but not enough for indefinite self-reliance.
Specifically, we do this by buying a number of food items in bulk. We would still need access to energy to prepare many of them but, by bulk buying, we have a few weeks’ worth of nutrition on hand at all times. And because we use this food all the time, we don’t need to worry about expiration or restocking; it is part of how we buy food.
We bulk buy:
- brown rice
- oat groats
- canned salmon
- olive oil
- applesauce
- whole wheat flour
- rye flour
- pinto beans
- baking soda
- apple cider vinegar
- canola oil
- dried berries
- walnuts
- berries (that we freeze)
Most of these are local buys, and some are bought directly from the farmers (including the olive oil). The combo of bulk and direct buying makes these purchases substantially cheaper per amount, though having money available for a bulk buy can be difficult. We do some of our bulk buying at farmers’ markets, some through a local co-op, some by going to the farms, and some by contacting farmers and arranging shipping.
Hunting and foraging can extend the emergency food supply
San Francisco has always gotten food from the ocean and bay. Everyday in SF, people are fishing for food on both sides of the peninsula, and many still go crabbing and diving for abalone and clams. This is a large part of some people’s food resources.
There are also foraging possibilities, from Miner’s Lettuce to the “no longer as ubiquitous as they were” blackberries (the park and school district gardeners don’t like the brambles and have been hacking them back). There are trees with edible berries, apple trees, and avocado trees in SF, kiwi vines in Berkeley, and a treasure trove of sidewalk citrus trees in San Jose that produce so prolifically they are rarely more than 1/3 harvested. If you are well-trained and cautious, there are mushrooms available at different times of the year in multiple locations throughout the city and beyond.
And there’s dumpster diving. Traditionally, this meant going through dumpsters, usually behind a supermarket or bakery, and pulling out sealed food that was being dumped because it was at or just past the sell-by date, and food that was being tossed because it was imperfect or ugly. It also could mean dumpsters behind restaurants where extra food from that day or night was being dumped.
Dumpster diving is not as rich a source as it once was. Attempts have been made to reduce food waste by diverting some of this tossed food to food pantries, low-cost markets, and composting. Many stores and some restaurants have initiated policies to destroy/spoil dumped food rather than allow it to be foraged from their dumpsters. Some restaurants have instituted direct giving programs; if you know when they’re closing, you can ask for leftover food and they’ll give you what they have.
Hunting and foraging have limits in an emergency situation
An emergency would impact food availability from the sources listed above by closing most restaurants and stores, and reducing those that are open to short supplies. Many more people would turn to foraging and hunting, reducing the food available that way. But these are still food sources to consider.
What food prep do you have in place for short-term emergencies?