If we do somehow fall into another Great Depression I highly doubt our food would be quite as miserable. We're probably going to see people buying a lot more frozen dinners and processed stuff - basically, your supermarket would start resembling an Aldi's or Dollar Tree and you'd see more things in cans or in the frozen food aisle.
Strong disagree here. Frozen dinners and processed stuff is well, highly processed, that means a certain amount of extra energy and 'processing' went in to them (usually not healthy). They usually contain high amounts of salt and sugar -- bad for blood pressure and obesity -- and since they stopped them putting so much of that shit in, they actually taste like shit too, so you have to add extra salt etc...
Plus they are fucking expensive. I can feed two people for a day for the single cost of one of those meals. In bongland they are about 5 bucks or more. You can do a lot with that, that doesn't involve unhealthy untasty crap.
If things get real bad, people will just have to dial it back a bit (or even a bit more). Things like porridge for breakfast is good if you can tolerate it (most people can). You don't need salt/sugar in it. It contains a high amount of nutrition that will last you through the day with long-lasting carbs as well as a bit of protein. It fills your belly and doesn't taste too bad. If you can stretch to a few nuts or honey or fruit to put in it, it's actually a bit of a treat. That's your most important meal of the day.
Next up, don't forget the humble potato. They contain many nutrient not least being vit. C. They also contain a small amount of protein as well as long-lasting carbs, again. The humble potato is famine food. Look up those standard ration meal packs (Like MRE's) that the UN uses to drop in to starvation zones. That's the bare minimum you need to keep a human alive for a few days.
After that you can have some rice/pasta if you can get it. Varying amounts of protein in these (pasta is higher), but it fills your belly. You will need to supplement with whatever fresh vegetables you can find. If you can grow your own, great, if not, then frozen peas/carrots/spinach/green beans are a good alternative. They keep for a while.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a greenhouse. I just recently cleared out my back yard and I reckon I could get a 6x4 greenhouse in there. They cost about 500 bucks. Then I would need the soil and the seeds etc. etc.
That may not be a bad investment. You can grow tomatoes and marrows and all kinds of things in there. I like squash/courgette type veggies and can do a mean curry with them. Veggie of course. I'm assuming meat will be hard for anyone to get in a depression. I won't miss it and my body is well adjusted to not having it. Having said that, the one time I faced starvation, I had to abandon my veggie principles. I ate a small amount of meat one day when there was nothing else. This was the only meat I'd eaten in like 20/30 years.
Prepping only gets you so far and last so long. One thing I would advise is to stock up on very long lasting shit like salt and spices. Salt/pepper/vinegar are the holy trinity of spices. You can do just about anything with just those three alone if you know what you are doing. Well, it stops otherwise bland food being boring if nothing else. Chuck in a few other dried herbs and you are good to go. You can freeze them too for longer shelf life. Whatever you can forage will taste better with them.
Anyone who has a little bit of land or space to put a greenhouse should get to work right fucking now. It's easy to grow potatos/carrots/onions/sprouts/beans. It takes work of course to do the weeding and whatnot, but if you can keep it private in a space where others won't come and take your shit, then it's worth the effort.
Someone down the road from me has just set up a greenhouse on what looks like communal land. The greenhouse doesn't have glass panes but poly plastic or something. I'm going to ask them how much it cost to build and see if they have any pointers or tips. You don't really need glass. Poly works good too. Besides it obscures what is inside and I'd probably grow a few weed plants as well, for trade if nothing else, if shtf. My backyard is secluded but also gets a decent amount of light. This is what makes it so tempting to spend a bit of cash now to get something set up. Summer will be over soon. But if I could get it going in the next few weeks, there is still a bit of light and heat to grow shit. Plus it would be ready for next spring after I get a bit of experience. I've grown shit before and have green thumbs, both outside and in greenhouses, so it will be fun as well.
