Page 43 - Fall2020

The Wise Traditions Pantry

TRADITIONAL FOODS PREPAREDNESS AND OTHER FORMS OF PREPAREDNESS
By John Moody

Without a doubt, 2020 has been the year no prices have not), but the uncertainties have left Root cellars
one expected. A novel virus leading to a pan- an indelible mark on many Americans. All of a make more
demic of panic that has resulted in lockdowns, sudden, keeping only a few days of food handy
quarantines, food shortages and a thousand does not seem so prudent after all. sense than
other unexpected things. Because of all the un- ever and are
certainty and the disruptions to food and other GROW YOUR OWN worth the
systems, I have been inundated with questions There are two aspects to ensuring a local
from people wanting to know how they can best food supply: your own production and your space they
position themselves and prepare for what the rest patronage of local suppliers. If at all possible, take up.
of this year (and the next) may bring. it makes sense to grow some food yourself.
Preparedness is a big topic, and an impor- Anyone and everyone can do it, and there is
tant one for people who rely on real foods to nothing fresher than what you can get from
keep them well in good times and bad. In this your own backyard. Moreover, there are many
article, I want to touch on how those of us com- ways beyond vegetable gardening to make your
mitted to a Wise Traditions diet and lifestyle landscaping edible.
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can best prepare in ways that align with our If you lack outdoor space, don’t despair.
principles. I have taught people in apartments to grow
potatoes, sweet potatoes, herbs and lettuces on
LOCAL FOOD IS THE BEST FOOD their balconies, in their windows or on a raised
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Having a solid network of local suppliers deck. I also have a friend who built a setup in
for food has always been important. Over the his garage to grow food year-round.
past six or so years, however, as large chains If you want to extend your growing sea-
enticed shoppers into grocery stores with more son, check out my previous Wise Traditions
organic items and more consumers moved to article discussing ways to grow food almost
online shopping, the mainstream media began year-round. Contrary to popular belief, this is
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reporting that local food sales and farmers possible in much of the U.S.
markets were losing momentum and that
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consumer interest was plateauing. Then, this BRING BACK ROOT CELLARS
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year, the unthinkable happened—many of us As a kid, I remember going into my grand-
saw empty grocery store shelves, and interest parents’ or parents’ basement root cellar to snag
in local food exploded! As circumstances forced apples, potatoes and numerous other vegetables.
large-scale producers to compost or euthanize Items stored in the root cellar also included
hundreds of millions of pounds of vegetables canned or otherwise preserved foods like sau-
and meat, grocery stores began removing meat erkraut. At the time, it seemed like almost every
cases or setting strict purchasing limits. Many house in northeast Ohio and western Pennsyl-
stores could not get a wide array of items in vania had a root cellar. Now, unfortunately,
stock. The combination of empty shelves plus most houses have incredibly expensive finished
all sorts of onerous rules made people begin basements with lavish entertainment or exercise
to rethink the convenience and low cost of the setups—but no place for food storage.
big-box grocery stores. Root cellars make more sense than ever
At the moment, most of the disruption ap- and are worth the space they take up. For one
pears to have settled down (although the higher thing, you can usually grow far more than you

FALL 2020 Wise Traditions 41