Eating Responsibly During a Pandemic
The coronavirus has changed a lot of lives over the past few months. And with changes in life come changes in foodways. In this post, I’ll give you my best tips for eating well while staying healthy, being sustainable AND helping your community during a pandemic.
Shop your kitchen first
The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends having a two-week supply of food essentials. Your first reaction to the CDC's recommendation might be to sprint the supermarket and buy all the non-perishables you can get your hands on. However, this mad dash to the store is unnecessary for most people. It's more than likely that you already have at least a week's supply of non-perishable foods hidden in your kitchen.
Whether you have canned soups at the back of your cabinet, pizzas in your freezer or a gallon of oats sitting on your counter, your current food supply is probably more abundant than you think. Checking your kitchen before going out will help you evaluate how much food you need (or don't need). If you find that you already have enough food to last two weeks, you can skip the grocery trip altogether. No unnecessary germs for you!
Bottom line: Check your current food stash before going out — you might not even need to go grocery shopping.
Do not shop or eat out if you feel sick
If you feel a little off or have been in contact with someone who has the virus, don't go out. Going to the grocery store or a restaurant when you’re contagious will put others at risk of getting the virus and potentially dying. Instead of going out for groceries or food, phone a healthy friend and ask them to grocery shop for you. To avoid contact, they can leave the groceries on your porch or outside your door. There's no shame in playing it safe and asking for help. (Also, please read the CDC's guidelines for what to do if you get sick.)
Bottom line: ask for help and stay in if you're feeling down.
Support local businesses
Whether it is a small grocery store, bakery or take-out restaurant, you can and should support local businesses right now. Small food operations will suffer (and possibly shut their doors for good) if people only hit up chain grocery stores. On the other hand, most large chain grocery stores are financially stable enough to survive a drop in sales. Instead of heading straight to the biggest superstore you can find, check out the small or family-owned grocery stores or co-ops in your area.
Most small or locally-owned restaurants are continuing to offer take-out options, even if their dine-in businesses are temporarily closed. If you are young, healthy and low-risk, you can buy from these local restaurants worry-free. Just don’t forget to use your reusable containers if they let you. Giving your cash to these businesses will help keep them running (and keep their workers paid!) until the virus blows over.
Bottom line: Shop in local grocery stores, get take-out and buy gift cards to support local businesses.
Don't let food products or produce go to waste
If you need to grocery shop, be careful not to overbuy. When you see empty grocery store shelves, you might panic and buy foods you wouldn't normally buy or buy more food than you need. If you heard that beans and milk are flying off the shelves, you might buy five cans of chickpeas, even though you hate chickpeas, or three cartons of milk, even though you live alone. Obvs, these are not rational or sustainable choices.
Overbuying products that you do not like, or products that will go bad before you can finish them, will lead to a bunch of food waste. When wasted food sits in landfills, it releases methane, a really nasty greenhouse gas. Making the sitch even worse, all the energy and resources required to make food also goes to waste when you throw out food.
Instead of buying irrationally, remember the food you already have at home and buy only a few necessary foods that you enjoy regularly. If you think that seeing bare grocery store shelves will cause you to "panic buy," take a picture of the food you have at home as a reminder, ask a healthy friend to shop for you, or use an app or a service to get your groceries delivered. Resist the urge to hoard.
Bottom line: Don't “panic buy” foods that you hate or won't eat before they go bad.
Remember that stores restock
Like I mentioned above, a lot of supermarket shelves are looking a little naked right now. However, this nudity is only temporary. Most grocery stores and restaurants have food deliveries scheduled once or twice per week. If you happen to visit a grocery store on the day before its delivery, some (or many) foods might be sold out. But fear not - the store will be restocked soon with its regularly scheduled delivery. And it will continue restocking next week, and the week after that, and the week after that too. Don't let the bare shelves spook you. If you need food immediately, ask your neighbors, friends and family. They will likely be eager to give a helping hand (or some chili).
Bottom line: your grocery store will restock soon.
Check-in with yourself and your neighbors
Make sure that you and everyone in your circle are eating well. Whether they have lost their job and are short on cash, have kids who aren't getting school lunches anymore, or are stressed and have no appetite, a lot of people are feeling food insecure right now.
Before you start helping others, check-in with yourself. If you don't have enough cash to buy a two-week supply of food, there is no shame in asking for help. Some states are also offering emergency unemployment benefits for those who lost their jobs or have shortened working hours because of the 'rona, so be on the lookout.
After checking up on yourself, check on those around you. If you know that a neighbor, family member or friend works in the foodservice industry, works for a company that had to lay off employees, works in healthcare, is elderly or has a chronic medical condition, give them a call. Offer to share meals, cook for their kids, go grocery shopping for them, or help out in whatever way they need.
There is also a strong correlation between anxiety and appetite loss or disordered eating. This means that if the virus has you feeling stressy or a little depressy, you might be at risk for avoiding meals or binging. The remedy for appetite loss or disordered eating will differ from person to person. For some, it may be as simple as setting a "go eat some food" reminder on your phone. For others, you may want to practice stress reduction techniques, talk it out with a friend or research therapy options (yes, virtual therapy is a thing).
Bottom line: Make sure you and you're neighbors are eating enough. ask for help when you need it.
Call or write your representatives to ensure pay for small businesses
Some places in the U.S. (including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Washington as of March 17) are closing dine-in restaurants and bars. Although this will prevent the virus from spreading as quickly, it also puts small food businesses at risk.
Many state governments are probs already creating plans to fund these businesses while they're closed, but a little push from citizens never hurts. To help your favorite food businesses survive, call or write your local, state and federal representatives.
You could ask them to support emergency unemployment benefits for people who were forced out of work because of the virus, abate rent and loans for those workers, or simply release a comprehensive plan for funding these restaurants while they are closed.