FOOD IN EMERGENCIES

It was quite surreal to be cut off with snow and watch the unfolding catastrophic wildfires in LA happen in real-time. To lose everything in an instant. In a crisis what do you do? What do you grab at the last minute to escape with your life? For many, they acknowledged that possessions were not important and that people and pets were. The stories that emerge afterwards though take my interest. Managing to feed people in crisis situations is a business. With war zones and famine zones, disaster relief is not uncommon. Tailored though to each culture is the challenge. What will this event bring forward as lessons to learn regarding how we live our lives? Will LA be rebuilt with a completely different food culture? Are the previous homeowners queuing for handouts getting what they need to nourish them through the difficult time that is ahead? For now, with the TV cameras on the celebrity culture, it is early days. We can never take our food culture for granted. When disaster strikes we need access to the basics. Food and shelter. Deliveroo and Just Eat may not cut it. It will be interesting to see how the new systems develop.
 
For what it's worth I am struck by those houses that withstood the blaze. Or rather the insights of the owners who set up systems to protect their houses. Unlike many who relied on the insurance only or waited for the government to solve the problem. Setting up generators to pump water from the pool to the roof to prevent ignition. These were relatively cost-effective ways to withstand the ferocity of the inferno. The lesson from this? Take charge. Don’t rely on the system to protect you. Find ways to protect your house. What a metaphor for our health! 

Anne Maher