Emergency Food Stashes


Emergency Food Storage

A summer’s produce ready to be stored on the farm

I grew up with a two-year supply of food in my basement. My parents weren’t fanatical, and they didn’t live their lives in fear, I think, because they had a supply of food set aside, a plan for a downturn in the economy, a layoff, an ice storm, or a disability. Not wanting to waste food, my mother rotated through her supply with a plan that rivaled a computer’s search engine. For 16 years, she taught monthly lessons on food storage. My parents talked about how many neighbors they’d be able to feed. Physically and emotionally, their efforts sheltered me. When I grew into an adult, I turned my parents’ narrative into an organic food business. Not much has changed since then, I just have more neighbors.

MaryJane [signature]