Food Procurement and Storage Plan

This page contains the open source plans that we will be using for procuring and storing food for approximately 50 people during our transition period onto the property. To see calculations and reasoning behind the nutritional aspects of these menus, please see our Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations page. To see the reasoning behind how One Community has designed these for implementation during construction of sustainable teacher/demonstration communities, villages, and cities, please see our complete Food Self-sufficiency Transition Plan page. To see how we plan to prepare and eat these foods, please visit the Food Bars page.

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This page contains the following sections (click on each point to jump straight to that section):

• What is a Food Procurement and Storage Plan
• Why Open Source a Food Plan
• Ways you can contribute to this
• Key consultants to this component
• Food Procurement and Storage Overview
  • Sustainable Eating Design Principles and Calculations
  • How Much Food is Necessary?
  • Summary of Needs for 50 Active Adults
  • Choosing Foods and How to Buy Them
  • Bulk Goods Pantry
  • Shopping List and Recipes
  • Cost Analysis
• Resources
• Summary
• FAQ

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WHAT IS A FOOD PROCUREMENT AND STORAGE PLAN

A procurement and storage plan for a large group of people assesses the amount of food that is needed, decides out how and where to get the food from, and plans the space and items needed to store the food. One Community will be using a Food Procurement and Storage plan based on the calculated the amount of food we need on a weekly basis for for the amount of people on the property, and will use that to determine the amount of storage space we will need to hold 4-6 weeks of reserves of the staple food items. We will be creating both a short term and a long term plan.

The long term strategy will be for the average food needs of One Community once we have a fully operational Earth Bag Village and City Center. Details of the long term plan will be added as those details are calculated.

The short term plan is for the food needs we will have as we first arrive on the property and begin building with the initial team of 50 pioneers. The short term Food Procurement and Storage plan is based on the calculated the amount of food we need on a weekly basis for for that amount of people, doing a heavy amount of physical work. Nutritious, filling meals will be served on food bars, which is similar to buffet style food preparation and service. This is a picture of the Transition Kitchen, which will house our Food Bars for the short term food plan:

 

WHY OPEN SOURCE A FOOD PLAN

This food procurement and storage strategy is part of our plan to make it easier for others to create a healthy, sustainable, and delicious food program into their projects in any situation where people are looking to establish a temporary kitchen and prepare food for large groups of people over long periods of time. We’ve chosen the below foods and correlating recipes because they’re relatively, affordable, convenient, and easy to execute while providing proper nutrition and a fairly wide variety of foods and flavors.

Once we’ve finished this tutorial and open sourced all the updates, modifications/clarifications, and learnings from our experience implementing food vars as part of our Food Self Sufficiency Transition Plan with volunteer builders as part of our crowdfunding campaign, we’ll further evolve it with our core team through building the complete Earthbag Village (Pod 1) and Duplicable City Center^®. Our goals in doing all this is:

• To provide menus and meals that can be of benefit to any group
• To demonstrate and share the healthiest and most delicious choices we’ve come up with so far
• To make the food production aspect of DIY sustainable building easier and more affordable for others

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO EVOLVING THIS SUSTAINABILITY COMPONENT WITH US

SUGGESTIONS | CONSULTING | MEMBERSHIP | OTHER OPTIONS

KEY CONSULTANTS TO THE FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY TRANSITION PLAN

Adam Weiss: Kitchen Operations Project Manager
Benjamin Sessions: Strategic Sales and Real Estate Development Entrepreneur and Food Connoisseur
Brian Storz: Culinary Project Manager
Dr. Matt Marturano: Naturopathic Doctor & Holistic Recruiter, developing a holistic model for comprehensive digestive health
Sandra Sellani: Business Author, Speaker, Consultant, and Vegan Chef

 

FOOD PROCUREMENT AND STORAGE OVERVIEW

To make replication as easy as possible, we’ve provided the following sections related to food bar creation:

• General Overview
• Sustainable Eating Design Principles and Calculations
• How Much Food is Necessary?
• Summary of Needs for 50 Active Adults
• Choosing Foods and How to Buy Them
• Bulk Goods Pantry
• Shopping List
• Cost Analysis

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW

The One Community food infrastructure is designed to meet the needs of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores. To meet these diverse nutritional needs and desires, food items were chosen that are a common ground between these three main groups. The items include fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables.

The food selection for food procurement and storage will be based on core principles and nutrition calculations found below. The food will be served on food bar “buffets” on a daily basis will be based on rotating seasonal and perishable staple items that will cover much of the daily dietary needs. This include items that are coming from our bulks, especially grains. There will be a rotation to vary the grains from day to day, while using the same grain for both lunch & dinner in the same day to cut down preparation time.

SUSTAINABLE EATING DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND CALCULATIONS

The procurement, preparation, and consumption of food will take up a large portion of the group’s financial and temporal resources, and even more so in the beginning. Since there are so many differing opinions and theories about nutrition and diet, it is important to have a set of core principles that govern how decisions will be made with respect to these.

Here are a set of proposed principles to adopt, as suggested by our consultant Dr. Matt Marturano, and which can be adapted to suit the needs of any group (explanations for each can be found on our Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations page):

1. Nutritionally-complete meal plans – Minimum of 100% RDA for nutrients
2. Nutrition-dense foods – quality comes first
3. Minimizing spoilage/waste – through food selection & storage
4. Food education – including macronutrient and micronutrient content & needs
5. Replicable recipes – straightforward/easy
6. Adaptable recipes – for changes in group sizes and activity levels
7. Taste and presentation – food that is inherently pleasurable
8. Coherence – food policy seeks the highest good for the individuals/groups it effects

 

HOW MUCH FOOD IS NECESSARY

Sustainable nutrition practices require us to continually ask this question, as the answer depends upon the circumstances. It is important to understand that there is no static answer to this question aside from ‘It depends’.

Dr. Matt Marturano has provided guidelines and calculations to show us how much food is necessary. Please see the detailed version of how we got the calculations for One Community on our Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations page, and see his guide on How to Get All Your Nutrition From Food for a very detailed and useful explanation.

We answered his four main questions that affect how much food is necessary and the answers to them will be used in devising the transitional food strategy for One Community.

Short Term Calculations

We will be designing the short term food plans with the following needs in mind:

• 50 people between approximately 25 – 65 years of age with a mean estimated weight 178 lbs and height of 70 inches, who will be very active (from physical labor since we will simultaneously be in the preliminary construction phase)

Based on the above estimations, while the pioneer group is in the food transition phase and preliminary construction phase, Dr. Marturano estimates we will need the following on average:

Calories & Protein (Please see the Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations for more information.):

• Daily per person: ~130 grams of protein and ~2750 calories (Using Mifflin-Jeor equation)
• Daily for 50 people: ~6500 grams of protein and ~137,500 total calories
• Weekly for 50 people: ~45,500 grams of protein (round up to 50,000 grams) and ~965,000 calories per week (rounded up to 1 million as a preliminary target to ensure everyone’s needs are met)

Long Term Plan Calculations

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

SUMMARY OF NEEDS FOR 50 ACTIVE ADULTS

From the standpoint of complete nutrition, Dr. Matt Marturano calculated it would be ideal to have food from each of these categories on a daily basis to feed a group of 50 adults that have a mix of omnivore and vegan needs:

Animal Protein

• Meat – 6 lb
• Eggs – 7 doz
• Dairy – 85 servings (incl. Alt dairy)

Plant Protein

• Grains – 20 lb
• Legumes – 20 lb
• Nuts & Seeds – 10 lb
• Root veggies – 30 lb
• Fresh Fruit – 30 lb
• Dried Fruit – 2 lb
• “Other” veggies – 30 lb
  • Light Greens – 2 lb
  • Dark Greens – 4 lb
  • Cruciferous – 4 lb
  • Alliums – 4 lb
  • Mushrooms – 4 lb
  • Misc – 10 lb

Details of “Other” Veggies (30 lb daily)

• Dark Leafy Greens (eg. spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens, chard, etc.) 4 lb per day. To keep things simple, they can be out on the bar for salads at lunch & dinner, and sometimes in a cooked format (i.e. lightly steamed) for dinner.
• Light Leafy Greens (leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, romaine, etc.) 2 lb total per day
• Cruciferous veggies (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, etc.) 4 lb total per day
• Alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, scallions etc.) 4 lb total per day
• Mushrooms (crimini, maitake, shiitake, oyster, etc.) 4 lb per day
• Nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers) 4 lb total per day
• Misc/Other (celery, artichoke, asparagus, fennel, okra, squashes, etc.) 10 lb total per day

 

Based on all of the above, as shown on our Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations page, here are our final weekly calculations for projected food needs for 50 active adults with a 178 pound average weight and mixed dietary preferences.

40% Omnivore, 30% Vegetarian, 30% Vegan Group of 50 Weekly Plan

• 700 lb vegetables
• 350 lb root vegetables
• 350 lb fruit
• 188 lb [dry] whole grains
• 188 lb [dry] legumes
• 49 lb meats (trimmed)
• 94 lb nuts/seeds
• 70 dozen eggs
• 400 servings dairy
• 21 lb dark leafy greens

 

 

CHOOSING FOODS TO BUY AND
HOW TO BUY THEM

Since we are estimating feeding 50 people per day, a bulk foods strategy which takes the nutrition above into account will also need to take price into account. Using current food prices, the following is our educated guess on how often we will be using each type of food. The foods are outlined in the following sections:

• Foundational Foods
• Supplemental Foods
• Bulk Goods Pantry

 

FOUNDATIONAL FOODS (DAILY/WEEKLY USE):

• Bulk Grains
  • rice, oats, barley, & millet are great for cost & availability
• Dried Beans & Legumes
  • split peas, green lentils, and peanuts are most affordable so will be used most often
  • garbanzos, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, northern beans, and navy beans tend to be next affordable
• Nuts, Seeds, and Spreads/Butters
  • Sunflower seeds, sesame/tahini, flax seeds, almonds, and peanut butter tend to be most cost effective
• Fresh, Dried, & Frozen Fruits
  • raisins, dates, & figs and frozen strawberries, mixed fruit & pineapple tend to cost less
  • Bananas should be easy to get shipped in cases at great rates
• Potatoes, Yams and other inexpensive root vegetables
• Seasonal, locally available fresh produce – best bulk rate / ‘ugly’ produce will be the priority to purchase
• Squashes/gourds, pumpkins, apples, etc, in season
• Eggs & Dairy – low cost dairy items*
• Lean frozen and/or ground meats that are inexpensive*
• Pasta & Couscous
  • most affordable shapes/varieties

You can follow the links below to the recipe pages for recipes with some of these foundational ingredients.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS (OCCASIONALLY ADDED TO RECIPES):

• Bulk Grains, Dried Beans & Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, Pastas, Spreads, etc, not listed above
  • rye berries, spelt, amaranth, farro, cashews, chia, pumpkin seeds, and other mid-price items.
  • occasionally, quinoa and other expensive varieties will be used rarely unless a good deal is found
• Fresh meats / more expensive meats and dairy items*
• Canned fish and seafood*
• Dried and Frozen Fruits
  • dried cranberries, apricots, frozen mixed berries, and other mid-price items can be used occasionally
  • more expensive items will be used rarely

*for omnivore meals

 

BULK DRIED GOODS PANTRY

The four main categories of bulk dried goods are: whole grains, beans/legumes, nuts & seeds, and dried fruits. For each of these categories, we will include three staples and some rotating items. Here is a good reference for long term storage techniques.

These are the general principles we assess each pantry item by to determine the quantity we store:

• Nutritional Value
• Availability
• Cost
• Shelf Life
• Ease of Use
• Variety

 

SUGGESTED INITIAL DRY PANTRY

Whole Grains

*** Considering that approximately 10% of the general population have celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and/or wheat allergy we have intentionally left out wheat (Including spelt, kamut, farro, durum) and limited gluten-containing grains (barley, rye, triticale). Oats should be certified gluten-free if possible. (Choose red/purple/black varieties if available and within budget for superior nutritional value.)

• Rice (30%)
• Corn (15%)
• Oats*** (15%)
• Buckwheat (10%)
• Amaranth (10%)
• Millet (10%)
• Quinoa (5%)
• Barley (5%)

 

 

Beans/Legumes

• Lentils (20%)
• Chickpeas/Garbanzo (20%)
• Black beans (20%)
• Pinto beans (10%)
• Green peas (10%)
• Kidney beans (10%)
• Peanuts (10%)

 

 

Nuts & Seeds

• Almonds (20%)
• Pumpkin seeds (20%)
• Sunflower seeds (20%)
• Walnuts (10%)
• Brazil nuts (10%)
• Sesame seeds (10%)
• Pecans (10%)

 

 

 

Dried Fruits

• Dates (30%)
  
• Raisins (25%)
  
• Figs (15%)
  
• Other (30%)
  (affordable dried fruits such as prunes)

 

Root Vegetables and Alliums

• Sweet Potatoes (43%)
  
• Potatoes (40%)
  
• Onions (14%)
  
• Garlic (3%)

STORAGE PANTRY OVERVIEW

This is the total storage space we need for 6 weeks of basic staple dried bulk foods and 4 weeks of basic staple root vegetables and alliums. You can find the details in the storage pantry details section below.

STORAGE PANTRY DETAILS

PROCUREMENT, STORAGE, & PREPARATION OF GRAINS

Grains are not only are vital to helping fulfill the nutritional needs of a group, they are also able to be stored much longer than many food items. In this section we will discuss how to get them, store them, and prepare them.

PROCUREMENT

Initial research has lead to the following possible sources to explore:

Thick oats can be found at Honeyville for $54.99 for 50 lbs.
Organic and conventional grains can be found at nuts.com, such as organic rolled oats for $59.75 for 25 lbs.
IFS bulk has many wholesale grains, such as 12 lbs of rolled oats for $8.42 and 25 lbs of steel cut oats for $15,17.

Yellow corn can be found at Honeyville for $34.99 for 50lbs, or white for $35.99.
Heirloom yellow corn, Reid’s variety, can be found for $111.00 for 25 lbs.

Organic brown long grain rice at Webstaurant sells for about $25 per 25lb bag.
There is an article for ideas on frugal rice purchasing here.

STORAGE

These items need to be typically stored off the ground (away from rodents) in a dark, cool, and dry environment. It is important to ensure the grains are stored in air tight, food-grade containers that are safe from insects and molds. Depending on where the grains are procured from, you may need to transfer the grains into air tight containers. According to the Whole Grain Council, “If stored properly in airtight containers, intact grains will keep for up to 6 months on a cool, dry pantry shelf or up to a year in the freezer. ” If we are able to store the grains under 50 degrees, they will last longer than at “room” temperature.

Used food grade 5 gallon buckets can be procured for cheap, and sometimes free, from places like bakeries that get frosting in 5 gallon pails. Lids such as the airtight gamma lids can be purchased for used pails to create a handy way to keep the grains airtight and accessible in the pails.

A five gallon bucket holds about 25 lbs of grain. Two buckets = a 50 lb bag. Two could comfortably hold a 55 lb bag.

Short Term Food Plan Grains Storage Needs

 

Since we need 188 lbs of grains per week for 50 people as per the calculated above, we estimate needing approximately 1128lbs for 6 weeks. Since each bucket holds ~50 lbs, we would need to store about 45 buckets of grains. This would fit on about 2.5 units of Nexelon Wire Shelving, 60″W X 14″D X 74″H.

Long Term Food Plan Grains Storage Needs

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

PREPARATION

The first question in preparation is if and how much of these are going to be soaked or sprouted before consumption. This will determine on the availability of water. Since water will be limited on the property One Community will have access to, unless marked otherwise, recipes on our website will include dry goods, and can be adjusted accordingly for those that choose to soak or sprout theirs. We will include some specific techniques and recipes in the recipe section.

 

PROCUREMENT, STORAGE, & PREPARATION OF LEGUMES, NUTS, AND SEEDS

Legumes, nuts, and seeds not only are vital to helping fulfill the nutritional needs of a group, they are also able to be stored much longer than many food items, without refrigeration. In this section we will discuss how to get them, store them, and prepare them.

PROCUREMENT

Initial research has lead to the following possible sources to explore:

6 gallon “superpails” of organic legumes from Pleasant Hill Grain have about 40-45 lbs of product and go for $2.75-$3.00 per pound, depending on the variety.

http://www.omfoods.com/legumes/organic-peas-yellow-split/ peas $31 25lbs -under $1.240/lb

They also have chickpeas $1.84/lb

Wilderness Family Naturals has bulk organic raw nuts and seeds in 25 lb boxes for $115-$360 ($4.60- $14.40 per pound) depending on the variety.

STORAGE

These items need to be typically stored off the ground (away from rodents) in a dark and dry environment.

Short Term Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds Storage

6 weeks of dried legumes on hand = 1225 pounds, or about 30 of those 6 gallon buckets. Diameter is 13.4″, height 17.6″ (about 2500 cu in) Total storage space: about 50 cu ft. These would fit on 2 units of Nexelon Wire Shelving, 60″W X 14″D X 74″H ($240 online from Global Industrial)

6 weeks of nuts/seeds on hand = 614 pounds, or about 25 of those boxes. Dimensions are 12 x 12 x 12″ (about 1750 cu in) : about 25 cu ft. This would require 1.5 more shelving units.

Long Term Food Plan Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds Storage Needs

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

PREPARATION

The first question is if and how much of these are going to be soaked or sprouted before consumption. This will determine on the availability of water. Since water will be limited on the property One Community will have access to, unless marked otherwise, recipes on our website will include dry goods, and can be adjusted accordingly for those that choose to soak or sprout theirs. We will include some specific techniques and recipes in the recipe section.

 

PROCUREMENT, STORAGE, & PREPARATION OF DRIED FRUITS

Dried fruits not only are vital to helping fulfill the nutritional needs of a group, they are also able to be stored much longer than many food items. In this section we will discuss how to get them, store them, and prepare them.

PROCUREMENT

Initial research has lead to the following possible sources to explore:

30 pounds of conventional raisins from Webstaurant sells for $43.99.
30 pounds of organic Thompson raisins from Organic Matters is $69.00.

IFS Bulk sells conventional dried fruits, such as 30 pounds of black mission figs for $118.84, 25lbs of dates for $34.61, and 28 lbs of apricots for $59.07.

Nuts.com offers a variety of organic and conventional dried fruits, and the price for conventional dried diced figs is $98.78 for 22lbs.

STORAGE

Dried fruits should typically be stored off the ground, away from rodents, in a dark and dry environment. To inhibit insects and molds from the fruit, food grade air tight containers are recommended for fruits that will not be kept under 40-50 degrees F.

Short Term Food Plan Dried Fruits Storage Needs

If we are able to store the fruits under 50 degrees, they can remain in the boxes they ship in. Since we need 350 lbs of fruit per week for 50 people as per the calculated above, we estimate needing approximately 1/3 of that, 116.67 lbs per week in dried fruits. That would come to 700lbs for 6 weeks. If the average box shipped is approximately the same size as the boxes the nuts are shipped in (12″x12″x12″ for 25lbs) we would space for 28 boxes, 25 of which would fit on one unit of Nexelon Wire Shelving, 60″W X 14″D X 74″H.

Long Term Food Plan Dried Fruits Storage Needs

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

PREPARATION

The first question is if and how much of these are going to be soaked before consumption. This will determine on the availability of water. Since water will be limited on the property One Community will have access to, unless marked otherwise, recipes on our website will include dry goods, and can be adjusted accordingly for those that choose to soak theirs. We will include some specific techniques and recipes in the recipe section.

SHORT TERM PLAN: TOTAL STORAGE FOR ALL BULK DRIED GOODS

To meet our goal of having about 6 weeks of dried bulk foods on hand, will need to store about 45 buckets of grains, 30 buckets of legumes, 25 boxes of nuts and seeds, and 28 boxes of dried fruits. The diameter of each bucket is 13.4″ and 17.6″ high, the boxes are 12 x 12 x 12″, and the shelving units are 60″W X 14″D X 74″H. In addition, our storage space will have a ceiling height of 96″, which limits the amount that can be stored on the top shelves.

Each shelf could hold 5 buckets (13.4’x 5 buckets=~67″ so the buckets on each end would hang off by under 4″ each) across, and with the ceiling limiting the total height, each row can only store 1 bucket high, so 20 buckets fit on each shelving unit. For the 75 buckets, we need 3 shelving units plus 3 shelves on a 4th. Each shelf can hold 5 boxes across and 2 boxes high, so we would need the final shelf of the 4th bucket holding unit plus one more unit to hold all 53 boxes.

LONG TERM PLAN: TOTAL STORAGE FOR ALL BULK DRIED GOODS

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

PROCUREMENT, STORAGE, & PREPARATION OF ROOT VEGETABLES & ALLIUMS

Root vegetables are vital to helping fulfill the recipe and caloric needs of a group. Alliums are great for flavoring and adding richeness in recipes. Both are also able to be stored longer than many other fresh, untreated foods. In this section we will discuss how to get them, store them, and prepare them.

PROCUREMENT

Root vegetables include potato, sweet potato, yam, carrots, turnips, parsnips, celery root, beets, etc. One Community will need approximately 32 lb per day based on the nutrition calculations. Alliums include onions, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks, and chives. One Community will need approximately 4 lbs per day based on the nutrition calculations.

Potatoes come in bulk most frequently in 50 lb boxes, sweet potatoes in 40 or 50 lb boxes, and onions in 50 lb sacks or boxes, as pictured above. Local farms sometimes will put them in reusable plastic containers, which you return to them after use. We suggest procurement from a local farm or farms when possible and affordable. Potatoes, onions, garlic, and sweet potatoes can also be purchased at a decent price from Costco, for those in an area where this is an option.

STORAGE

These items need to be typically stored off the ground (away from rodents) in a dark, cool environment. Root vegetables usually fair better in moist storage. Garlic and onions need dry storage. Most vegetables and alliums need to be stored in a separate area from fresh fruits, as the gases some fruits give off will cause them to sprout sooner. You can find some helpful information about preparing and storing these foods here and here. ddd

Many of these items can be stored for months (sometimes over 5 months) in the right conditions. However, we will likely not be able to have an area as cool as these vegetables would need to store for long periods. Additionally, our goal is to stock 6 weeks of food, so that is what we will account for. We may want to use more sweet potatoes than other root vegetables as they tend to like it warmer and drier than other root vegetables, and we will be in an area that is hot and dry in the summer. We will calculate the storage needs for 6 weeks, assuming that we can at least keep it cool enough to allow the vegetables to stay free from sprouting and molding, however in the heat during the summer, we may want to stock less depending on the temperature in our storage area.

Short Term Food Plan Root Vegetables Storage Needs

Each day, One Community will need approximately 32 lbs of root vegetables and and 4 lbs of alliums. This adds up to a weekly total 224 lbs of root vegetables and 28 lbs of alliums. For a six week supply, we will need 1344 lbs of root vegetables and 168 lbs of alliums. A 40 lb box of sweet potatoes measures 20″x 14″ x 12″ or 16-5/8″ x 12-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. A 40lb box of onions measures 20″x 13″ x 11″. A 30lb box of garlic measures 16″ x 12″ x 11″. A 50 lb box of potatoes (yukons, reds, and russets) measures 20″x 14″ x 11″. To get close to our 6 week goal, we would have 1 30 lb box of garlic, 3-4 boxes of onions, 17 boxes of sweet potatoes, and 13 boxes of potatoes, for a total of 30 boxes of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

We will be using shelving units that are 60″W X 14″D X 74″H. On each shelf should be 24″ high and able to stack 3 boxes across and 2 boxes high, except the top shelf at 1 box high since our ceilings are 8′ high. That is 21 boxes per shelving unit. One unit would account for 21/30 boxes of potatoes and sweet potatoes, which is 70% or approximately 4.2 weeks of our needs, as shown in the image below. We may decide to try that amount at first to see how each type of vegetables last in the storage conditions we are able to create. The sturdy cardboard boxes need holes poked in the sides for ventilation. We will also want to make sure the container is covered with newspaper or cardboard so no light can penetrate. Alternatively, we may want to use the reusable plastic bins that are already ventilated, such as these.

Our 4-5 boxes of garlic and onions can be stored on the shelves that will house the remaining 3 boxes of dried fruits, far from the potato shelves, as onions stored closely to potatoes would cause potatoes to sprout. The onions and garlic need a lot of ventilation, but also need to be kept in the dark. To avoid bruising from the wire shelving, if we remove the garlic and onion from the boxes, we will want to put a layer of cardboard on the shelve, then store onions in mesh bags, and make sure to cover with something like newspaper so they do not get light but remain ventilated. Garlic needs low temperatures and total darkness, so we may want to consider storing it in a terra cotta pot with a lid and ventilation holes.

Long Term Food Plan Root Vegetables Storage Needs

Long term calculations will be added based off the above, and adjusted to the total number and activity levels of people that are living at and visiting One Community by the time the plans will be used. This information will be added to this page when it is calculated.

RELEVANT KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

Small brushes (to wash root veggies), peelers, chef’s knives, ovens, burners, sauce pans, griddles, large pots, colanders, large mixing and serving spoons, mashers, mixers, immersion blenders, graters, mandolins

GENERAL STRATEGY

Root vegetables can all be prepared in pretty much the same ways. If a recipe calls for a particular root veggie that isn’t on hand, chances are that the cook can improvise with another root vegetable on an equal weight or volume basis.

PREPARATION TECHNIQUES

Always wash/scrub root veggies, whether or not you are planning to peel them.

Peeling is totally optional, even with items that are almost always served peeled, such as carrots. TIP: The peel contains many nutrients. However, certain people, including young children, the acutely ill, and the elderly can be sensitive to higher levels of salicylates. If any of these will be eating, it may be best to consider peeling or to make a special preparation for those individuals.

For something large and oval, like a yam or celery root, slice through the long axis, place the sliced faces down on the cutting board, and cut again along the long axis. This will create long wedges that can be served in that form. Or slice the wedges up into chunks.

For something long and skinny, like a carrot or parsnip, simply slice into round medallions. Or, cut first lengthwise, then slice to make half-moon shapes.

Other preparations: The root vegetable may be kept whole, as in when making a baked potato or yam. They can also be passed over a grater to make shavings; these are typically used in cold preparations like a salad, or as a garnish. Use a mandolin to make chips.

Root veggies can generally be prepped the night before, and kept soaking in water.

COOKING TECHNIQUES

Baking is simplest. Root veggies can also be boiled. Deep frying in a sauce pan is delicious, but messy and expensive. We will include some specific techniques and recipes in the recipe section below.

 

WEEKLY SHOPPING LIST

Based of the above calculations, and accounting for our bulk goods selection, we have a general layout below for the breakfast, lunch, and dinner bars. You can find the details on our Food Bars page.

To effectively serve the One Community Team, we will create two primary recipe options: omnivore and vegan. Catering to too many varied diets would ultimately be costly and unsustainable. Many meals can flexibly be created from either a vegan or omnivore based meal plan. Our current menus are primarily vegan as they were created by Sandra Sellani: Business Author, Speaker, Consultant, and Vegan Chef, and we will be adding omnivore recipes soon.

With this (and all the information above) in mind, we have created the following first draft of weekly recipe lists: aaa

VIDEOS COMING AS WE IMPLEMENT THIS AS PART OF OUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN: PREPARING EACH RECIPE, SHOPPING TIPS, TEMPORARY KITCHEN SETUP, AND MORE

SEE OUR HOW TO HELP AND/OR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN PAGE TO HELP CREATE ALL THE TUTORIAL VIDEOS FASTER

 

ONE WEEK SHOPPING LIST

Coming…

 

 

ONE WEEK MENU COST ANALYSIS

Coming…

 

 

RESOURCES

On the following pages, you can find more information about our open source food program:

• Highest Good Food
• Transition Kitchen Setup
• Food Self Sufficiency Transition Plan
• Sustainable Food Nutrition Calculations
• Food Bars
• Use this page (click here) if you have a resource you’d like to suggest be added here

SUMMARY

In summary, food procurement and storage is an integral part of One Community’s open source food program and enable us to create easy to make, sustainable, nutritious, and delicious recipes that everyone will love.

FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS

Q: Is One Community going to be a vegetarian community?

The One Community team consists of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores. In accordance with our philosophy for The Highest Good of All we are maintaining a non-idealogical approach to food choices. That said, also in accordance with this philosophy, we will only support and consume food items that are ethically and sustainably raised, managed, and produced. The consensus process will be used to decide the evolution of the One Community food plan.

Q: I'm vegetarian/vegan, would I have to participate in any part of the process or raising animals for food and/or eating/cooking them?

No, you would not have to participate in any aspect of One Community's food diversity that didn't agree with your personal beliefs and preferences.

Q: I'm an omnivore or vegan, what if I don't want to eat a vegan or omnivore diet?

The complete food self-sufficiency transition plan is designed to meet the needs of all dietary preferences through:

1. Recipes that can be made vegan or omnivore:
   1. Vegan recipes were chosen that could easily have animal-based proteins added for omnivores
   2. Omnivore recipes were chosen that could easily be made with 100% vegan ingredients
2. Alternating weeks of omnivore and vegan focused menus: The weeks are alternating so that we could design complete 1-week menus for each dietary preference to provide complete menus for both philosophies AND so that groups containing mixed preferences would have an equal way of focusing on each dietary preference for a week while still providing for the other preference as per #1 above. They alternate to address any concerns that recipes aren't as good when a vegan recipe is made omnivore just by adding animal protein, or an omnivore recipe is made vegan just by replacing all animal-based ingredients.

In this way all dietary preferences can be provided, any sacrifices are shared in alternating weeks, and groups completely preferring vegan or omnivore options have clear menus they can follow for both choices.

Q: How do you intend to produce spices, mill grain for flour, cooking oil, etc. etc.

To us, "100% food sustainability" means we will demonstrate and open source share a model that doesn't need external food sources. Having achieved this, what we produce internally versus choosing to buy will be decided through the consensus process.

Q: What is One Community's stance on pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides?

If it is not safe to eat, we will not be spraying it on our food. Here's a video we feel is helpful in understanding why:

Q: What if I want something that isn't on the community menu?

The community menu will be agreed upon through the consensus process. If a person wanted something not included on that menu, then they would be welcome to purchase and provide it for themselves.