Victor Gardens and COVID-19

Victory what?

While rationing does not appear to be on the horizon during this pandemic, concerns over the fragility of the American food system continue to grow. Many Americans are feeling powerless in the face of shelter-in-place orders, job loss, overwhelmed medical facilities and the suffering of neighbors and friends. With all of this uncertainty circling, other questions arise, especially around food production. Who will harvest our crops? What happens if the supermarkets can’t keep up with the demand? What can we, as individuals, do in the face of an uncertain future?

In the wake of the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are rediscovering the tradition of victory gardens. Instead of relying on grocery stores to keep food in stock, many Americans are turning their lawns into small victory gardens to create some food security in an uncertain time. “People seem to be preparing for some serious disruptions in the food supply. I’m not alone in feeling concerned with how this may go down,” said Nate Kleinman, co-founder of the nonprofit Experimental Farm Network. These family- and community-centered gardens were popular during both of the World Wars and were an important source of both calories and nutrition for communities during times of scarcity caused by these wars. Read More

Also See:
The 1940's Experiment: Frugal Wartime Recipes to See You Through Challenging Times!
Victory gardens: A war-time hobby that's back in fashion

I have tried a number of the recipes and I recommend them. I was born in the years immediately following World War II and the meals that I ate as a youngster reflected the influence of war-time rationing. My grandfather had been a food officer in both world wars and I suspect that he set an example for others. He was also an avid gardener. My grandmother came from a large family and had a Scottish mother. This background may explain her frugality. "Waste not, want not" was a proverbial saying that I often heard as a child. Very little food was wasted. Half of Sunday's roast chicken was sliced and served cold a day or two later with boiled potatoes and salad. Eggs went into batter puddings; bacon, into steamed puddings. Stale bread became bread puddings. What table scraps were left after meals were fed to the pigs. If my grandparents were alive today, I believe that they would be shocked at the amount of food waste in the United Kingdom and the United States.