panic-buying on the one hand and rationing on the other –

panic-buying on the one hand and rationing on the other only multiply a crisis. yet there’s a practical solution that meets a primal need in one classic, simple pattern. yes. the pantry.

the ills of scarcity-type crises are exacerbated by overbuying and stockpiling. like takeout deliveries half-eaten, tossed, more packaging than nourishment, at once too much and too little, our goods circulate internationally in wasteful, clotted bursts. yet we have traditional models that could stabilise this crisis and mitigate the next as climate emergency redoubles every hazard.

just as kitchen skills liberate us from costly reliance on the prepackaged, just as gardening skills open a world of flavour, nourishment, resilience, the skills of food storage are deceptively simple, revolutionary in their potential. tried-and-true and transformative.

not everyone has a built-in pantry, yet a cool, dry closet or cupboard can host a store of dried goods. a sack of dried beans, whole grains bought in good times can keep for years, sustaining us.

not everyone has a root cellar, yet a bin buried in the garden up to its lip and covered can be filled with root veg in season. no refrigerated trucks, no last-minute car-trips, efficiency at its best.

not everyone has a deep freeze, but many could revive basic skills of preserving fruit in jars, fermenting veg in brine, dehydrating, curing, immersing in oil or alcohol. transforming the fresh into the stable, a reliable store of deep nutrition to draw on when times are tough.

some folks still practice this basic, liberating knowledge. more and more of us are accessing books, sites, videos, classes, mentors teaching these traditions.

it’s a fine time here to sow seeds, forage, support local farmers. we can stock up, in season, in a humble fashion. generosity springs from self-reliance, met-needs and community-hardiness. a virtuous cycle of sufficiency. with foresight, turning to the local, we’re reviving a long heritage of adaptability. the circulation of what’s needed smooths into a steadying, nourishing flow.

then we can experience abundance, because the local is a source of strength and resilience.

a variation of this small work was released in 2020, in the midst of rising prices and panic-buying. the piece feels particularly relevant this spring, as the patterns repeat. it is the victorian fruit trees, the hardy nut trees, and the long-lived, slow-but-steadily laying heritage breed hens, ducks and geese that help us feel some steadiness in the storms. so too, it is our neighbourhood of folks who grow a little or a lot, and turn to each other and the land for what’s needed. wishing you such grounding relationships with the sources of your nourishment ☆彡 thank you for reading, thank you for sharing, thanks for supporting. it goes a long, long way ♡