Get creative and beat the effects of high food prices

Get creative and beat the effects of high food prices

News

==The Creators’ Coven==

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine has literally caused worldwide disruptions to trade and investment and by extension impacted consumers of food and fuel globally. The World Bank said that although the world’s poor—who spend a large part of their incomes on life’s necessities—are the most vulnerable, no country, region, or industry is left untouched by these disruptions.In Guyana, this fact could be attested to. Even now the government has set aside $5B to help cushion cost of living issues. The price of food in the country has skyrocketed and consumers are complaining bitterly.

A 900ml bottle of oil that once cost $460 is now almost $800. At the farmer’s market, the price of greens more than doubled. Worth being mentioned also is the scary reality that Caribbean leaders say they are confronted with as a result of the global happenings. That small developing nations have been unable to import a large portion of their food from overseas, even though they have money in hand; that the nations where CARICOM buys its food are keeping what they have for itself since they did not have excess to sell, underscores the grim reality that forced Caribbean leaders to become more proactive about food security. So much so that they want to cut 25 percent of their hefty global import bill in the next three years, while building stronger partnerships that allow for increased regional food security.
Citizens too must pay attention to the situation and determine what role they could play to help themselves. After all, consumers are the ones most affected by the shocks to the economy. When the government was unable to buy certain goods during the pandemic and shortages occurred, it was families, particularly impoverished ones, who felt the squeeze.

But like the CARICOM leaders found out, it is always a safer option to control one’s food. And in this situation that means simply, learning to adapt by coming up with ways that aid your own personal food security.
The idea of growing your own food should immediately come to mind. But before we get there, let’s look at some ways to save money at the supermarkets and produce markets. There are little considerations to keep in mind when working with a budget or implementing cost cutting measures.
Buy directly from the farmer
If possible, take a cool drive to your local farmer and source the produce directly from the farm. Buying directly from the farmer helps to cut cost since the retailer’s markup determines how reasonable the item would be. Transportation cost to the farm would more than likely be regained from the bargain price received. As a result of the high food prices, the Guyana government has initiated farmers’ markets around the country. Take full advantage of these and enjoy bargain prices at a time when basic goods have become inaccessible to some families.

Buy in bulk, pool funds if possible
In some cases, farmers do not transact retail sales. Depending on the size of the farm and quantity of produce, they prefer wholesale transactions to get rid of their bulks and would not sell goods below a certain amount. In that case, an easy way of crossing that hurdle is pooling funds and purchasing in bulk. Once the farmer has been located, talk to your family members, co-workers or persons you think would be interested, to pool funds and buy bulk goods directly from the farmer. This allows for larger quantities of produce to be purchased at a cheaper cost, giving the participants more goods to take home than if they had made individual purchases from a retailer.

Buying cheaper brands and looking out for bargains
Some persons do not compromise when it comes to quality, although not having enough money to buy what is desired would force someone to do that. Many associate the quality of a product with the brand. In that case, if stretching the dollar is the objective, now might be a good time to start trying cheaper brands to ascertain whether the switch could be made without compromising too much on quality and taste. Additionally, keep an eye out for good bargains.

Whether at the produce market or the supermarket, keep your eyes out for those combo promotions where even if a few extra dollars are required, the product is cheaper together than if they were bought separately. Look out for the two for one price, buy one, get on free promotion. Even if you don’t use the item right away, you know you have it in stock and got it at bargain price.

Utilising ways that preserve food for longer periods
The longer goods could be persevered, reflects on how far the dollar could be stretched. At a time when high food price is a problem, no one wants to know they are losing money from having to toss items that were not used, because of spoilage. Being able to reduce spoilage will impact positively on the amount of money that is retained as there won’t be a need for double purchases within short periods. Try some of the tips mentioned for preserving food for longer periods.
Loosely wrap leafy vegetables in foil paper and place them in the refrigerator. It is expected to remain fresh for almost a month. Put the heads of scallion/spring onions in a glass with little water and place a clear plastic bag over it. This product, which in some cases is still selling at $200 for three heads, will remain fresh and regrow when cut. Cucumber will spoil in a matter of days in the refrigerator. Instead, put them in a clear plastic bag, poke a few holds and place in a cool area on the kitchen counter. Take note of fruits that release the gas ethylene which ripens other fruits around it. Herbs would last longer wrapped in damn paper towels and placed in the refrigerator. Plastic wrap the top of ripe bananas and they will last for longer periods.

Kitchen Gardens in small spaces
There is no better way to secure your food than to grow it yourself. As such, here are a few useful tips from HGTV for especially persons with small spaces but desirous of having their own kitchen gardens.

…High-yield Crops
Planting crops that have a high yield per square foot makes better use of limited space. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant, beans, cucumbers and squash offer a lot of produce throughout the season from just a few plants. High-yielding, lettuce and greens are described as “cut-and-come-again” crops, meaning that you can cut the outer leaves continually through the growing season and the plant will continue to produce more leaves from the centre.

…Plant Wide Rows
When you think about it more closely, the single-row method is really kind of a waste of space. Intensive gardeners will plant rows with two or three plants side-by-side, creating one wide double or triple row. Do not use for vining plants like cucumbers and melons, but the practice is ideal for produce like lettuce and kale.

…Try Vertical Gardening
When you run out of space on the ground, grow up instead. Vining plants such as cucumbers, beans, peas, squash and tomatoes grow easily on trellises or fences, which can be made of anything from wood to bamboo to string.

…Plant Crops Together
A planting method called interplanting or intercropping helps with efficiently using space. One idea is to plant fast-growing vegetables among slower-growing ones so that you harvest the fast crop before it begins to crowd the slow one. You also can plant low-growing crops that can take a little shade—such as lettuce, parsley —under tall crops like tomatoes and peppers, where the lower level will catch the rays that the taller plants let filter through.

…Gardening in Containers
Containers are the ultimate solution for gardeners with limited space. Large containers could be used for crops such as spring onions and could easily be used alongside intensive practices such as vertical gardening and choosing high-yield crops, among others.