Frugal Kitchens 101 - Food in Uncertain Times (2)

It is true that we are living in trying economic times.  The sad thing is a lot of folk do not know how to go about securing a food source and even less so securing a sustainable food source to help get through the harder economic times.  Food banks and charitable organizations can only do so much so it is time for each individual to take responsiblity in establishing some type of a food stock that should at minimum be a 3 month supply.  As mentioned in the previous post my comfort level is a 12 month food supply but in reality it is an 18 to 24 month supply.  At the same time using a few new skills can greatly help with securing food.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 is an extension of last week's post where I focused on growing your own food.

A frugal homemaker should never have to resort to using a food bank or charitable organization (eg. soup kitchen) for their food supply.  Instead they will strive to have enough on hand to be able to help themselves and perhaps help others if the need arises.

• couponing - If you use coupons when grocery shopping, take what ever savings and buy canned foods for your pantry.  It might not seem like a lot but everytime you add two or three cans to your pantry stock you are taking one more step toward preparedness.  While it isn't food sustainability it is one way to help getting towards that goal.
• buy in bulk - Again you will be relying on commercial and local growing sources but this is necessary when first setting up a well stocked pantry and in come cases it will be the only way to stock certain foods.
• grow your own - Grow as much food as you can yourself.  That includes growing indoors, outdoors, in urban and rural settings.  When it comes to vegetables focus on heirloom varieties so you can collect seeds to grow for the following year (sustainable).   Consider adding a protein source to the foods you grow.  More and more communities are allowing backyard chickens kept mainly for the eggs.  Rabbits are allowed pretty much anywhere including urban settings. 
• barter - Trade your excess produce from your garden with another gardener who has an excess of another fruit or vegetable.  Produce can also be traded for eggs, honey, meat and maple syrup. 
• learn new skills - Learning new skills like gardening, fishing, hunting, trapping and foraging can help to increase your food supply.  Learning new skills like canning, dehydrating and curing will help preserve some of your increased food supply for later use.  A surprising amount of food can be produced simply by growing your own but that can be easily supplemented with fish, hunting and foraging.  Foraging in particular may be as close as your own back door and a surprising number of edible weeds can be foraged in urban settings.   Preserving extra food is not difficult, expensive or time consuming but it is one of the best ways to add to your food stores.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Food in Uncertain Times (1)

I've been follow a discussion on one of the forums that I participate in on food in uncertain times.  According to one source the 5 foods that should be grown for sustainable living are: potatoes, corn, squash, beans and eggs.  Of course I had to do a short write-up on my gardening blog but I want to take the topic into greater detail here.  This week's Frugal Kitchens 101 topic is Food in Uncertain Times.

Food is a basic necessity of life.  In times of stress and financial hardship regardless of the cause, food may be one of the few comforts left.  I personally feel that keeping a 1 year supply of food on hand is prudent and in my case it borders closer to 18 months to 2 year supply.  That being said, no food supply is considered sustainable if it cannot be replenished.  During the depression and war times every household was encouraged to have a victory garden.  The premis was taking responsibility for growing what you could yourself took the pressure off of the commercial food supply.  That still holds true today.  Unless you live in a building with no balcony and even then virtually every living space can be used to grow some of your own foods.  Growing can be done indoors, outdoors or both and it can be done using the new techiques for small space gardening. 

What you can grow depends on your space and climate but growing indoors can extend what you can feasibly grow as well.  In general most herbs and a wide range of vegetables can be grown in small spaces and indoors.  On the other hand some foods like wheat, rice, corn and potatoes really take up too much room for a home garden unless you have a lot of space. 

Here is a list of fruits and vegetables that I would consider necessary for sustainable living space permitting of course:

• tomatoes 
• peppers
• lettuces
• chards
• onions
• carrots
• squash (including cucumber)
• pole beans
• peas
• rutabaga
• fruit bearing bushes 
• fruit bearing trees

Some animals take up more room than others and depending on location may not be allowed by the municipality.  Consider too that animals are a 24/7 commitment so may not fit in with your lifestyle.  Here is a list of animals tthat would be nice to have for sustainable living in smaller spaces.  Of these rabbits should be rather easy to keep, low maintenance and allowable pretty much anywhere:

• rabbits
• chickens (laying hens only)
• goat
• fish (eg. trout)

Next week's Frugal Kitchens 101 will discuss food in uncertain times a bit further.