"Living Under the Threat" - food - 4/5/20

I've never been a food waster - at least I don't think I am. But it's true - sometimes I wouldn't eat the crusty pieces of a loaf of bread. Sometimes I would toss a few old pieces that were still edible if I had a fresh loaf. Occasionally fresh produce would go bad before I had a chance to eat it. Or part of a bag of shredded cheese.

But since the pandemic I have made a conscious effort not to waste any food. This week I ate every slice of bread in the fridge before I started on the new loaf that was delivered on Tuesday. The hummus has a "best by" date of April 6th, so I'm working on that. If I open a can of corn, I finish it before I open a can of green beans. It can take me three days to finish a can of vegetables - I eat about a half a cup a day.

But yesterday I realized there has been a cucumber in the fridge for nearly two weeks. I sliced it and ate a few slices with my hummus and it was fine. But today, the slices are slimy and I detected an odor when I smelled them. So, they are going in the trash. I'm not stupid. My goal to not be a food waster will always be usurped by my determination to avoid food poisoning at all costs.

Food insecurity has been one of my biggest fears during this pandemic. It was so surreal to go to the grocery store and see so many empty shelves. Plus deliveries are hard to come by. I, like most people in my life, have never known food insecurity, and it is something we should always put at the top of our gratitude list. We have always been lucky that we can just walk in a store, find what we want, and buy it. Now, I think food insecurity will always be a nagging fear in my life. I have never let myself get low on food before I go to the store, but now I will be even more cognizant of that. I feel like I will need to strike a balance between having enough food and feeling like a hoarder because I fear not having food.

I focus on the fact that we WILL get back to our normal lives.
But I also believe that we will be forever changed by this experience.
Some change will be for the better.
Some change will be trauma-induced and difficult to overcome.

librarianintx