I feel like an update to my previous post about preparedness is necessary… Anyone even remotely aware of their surroundings knows that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. To be honest, I was specifically avoiding preparing for a pandemic because I hated thinking about it. This was my wake-up call. Luckily, as I discussed in the preparedness post, most of the preps for other situations crossover and are useful in this situation. Also, believe it or not, this is kinda pandemic-lite. We still have access to everything we really need, and most things we would want (depending on the level of personal risk we’re wanting to take for it).
We’ve been quarantined for over a month now (6 weeks). When we first heard news that this was coming our way stores started to sell out of some of the basics (kinda like before a hurricane or snow storm), then a lot of the basics, as people started to realize what was happening. If you didn’t already have a few weeks of toilet paper you might be up $h*t creek without a paddle. Luckily, we’re not the kind of people who like going to the store all the time so we try to keep extras of everything on hand (two is one and one is none). So, we weren’t in dire need of anything.
We are fortunate enough that our employer is allowing us to work from home, allowing us to prioritize our health and safety. Also, a lot of people and businesses have REALLY stepped up to meet the new demands of this new environment. Most of our convenience foods we can get through Prime Pantry (Amazon), now that they’re starting to restock (they were sold out of nearly everything for a bit). But what’s even more awesome, a few local restaurants and farms have started carrying grocery items for either no-contact pick-up or delivery. This has allowed us to avoid going to the store and has helped keep us healthy. We can have meat, milk, veggies, honey, flour, etc delivered to our door in less than 24 hours. AND much of the items are locally produced! I love it so much I hope they keep doing it after the quarantine restrictions are lifted because it’s awesome.
We’re hearing from some sources that we should expect food shortages this summer because of this pandemic. Food is being thrown away enmass. Supply chains are breaking down. Whether the dire predictions come to pass, only time will tell.
You know what else stores started selling out of after grocery items…? Baby chicks, seeds, and garden equipment. Prepper and Homestead groups on Facebook started growing like crazy. People are taking their food security into their own hands. The more people who do this will cut down on the burden to the system and maybe keep it from collapsing. It’s the resurgence of the Victory Garden. I think this is one of the positive things that is going to come out of this situation. I’m not all doom and gloom! While I recognize these are scary times, and the benefits come at a steep cost… Pollution and crime levels are at record lows. People are starting to garden and cook from scratch. Families are spending more time together. People are starting to see the fragility of how we live and making changes. On a more personal note, I get to spend a ton of time with my baby I wouldn’t have gotten if we weren’t quarantined and working from home. We’re spending 24/7 with him at a time when he’s growing and learning SO fast. And, the memes are fantastic 😉
We’re using the extra time we have (we’re saving 2 hours a day of commute time!) to improve our food security, too (while not contributing to scarcity). We had been slacking on our gardening and didn’t put one in last year. I was pregnant (more on that later) and dealing with debilitating “morning” sickness during planting season. Also, the pregnancy shifted our priorities a bit to finishing more of the house renovation (more on that later, too). Aaanyhow, the garden is a higher priority now, so Michael has been busting his butt to get more garden beds prepared and planted. I have a seed problem (where I order more seeds than we can use every year because I can’t choose which seeds to buy– sooo many cool varieties!) that is paying off now. We’re also incubating some chicken eggs to be able to have more chickens and eggs. These things aren’t going to be enough to be our sole source of food. But if food gets super expensive because there’s not enough of it (supply and demand) the garden, chickens, and our knowledge of edible wild plants, will help us get by.
I truly hope we won’t NEED it, but as always… prepare for the worst; hope for the best.