So hydroponics are kicking off (as well as soil container gardens, backyard gardens, and community plot gardens) with me and my friends....

....and with that now is a good time to emphasize that this is not just a hobby (or a hobby at all for some). It's easy. sure. And takes little time, money, and effort... and is fun... and calming... don't get me wrong.

But we're not doing this for shits and giggles.

This is one part of a larger effort at bringing about post-scarcity food. (Note: One part. No one thing is a panacea.)

So right now, we have efforts to garden (hydroponically or otherwise) for one's self and one's family. That's good. It either supplements or fully replaces a corporate grocery store. Great.

But it's only part of it.

The next part is mutual aid. When we plant food, we also plant for our neighbors and greater community. For every 5 plants I harvest, I give away at least 1 plant. At least 20 percent. The question then becomes, how do we get the food out. How do we distribute it?

Food banks are fine. They're already set up. Many accept home grown produce. The issue with food banks is they are often means tested. You have to prove you NEED the food before you get it. That has a shit ton of issues and often just means that people who are hungry don't get to eat.

Instead of food banks, I've been using two solutions to distribute food.

1) The Olio App ( https://olioapp.com/en/ ): The Olio App let's you list your produce online. Folks can then request the item and arrange for pickup. It's like craiglist and uber eats and specifically is about giving away free food.

2) Community Fridges / Community Pantries ( https://freedge.org/locations/ ): Free fridges and pantries are physical nodes in your community where folks that have extra food, put it in the pantry. Folks that need food, take it out. Give a food, take a food. No need for apps, low overhead, works really well and is efficient.

The key to all of this is it's NOT charity. This is MUTUAL aid. You give AND you take. As we produce for ourselves we also produce for our neighbors. Everyone eats.

#solarpunk #mutualAid #freeFridge #communityPantry #hydroponics #postScarcity