It is said that only nine meals lay between us and anarchy, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
Freeze Dry Surplus Food
By leveraging the technology to freeze dry food, farm surplus that would normally rot in the field and grocery store surplus that would normally rot in a dumpster, can instead be freeze dried before spoiling and sold to the US Government (at a discount, but enough to make it worth the labor needed to freeze dry the food). The freeze dried food’s shelf life will thus be preserved by years while maintaining the bulk of its nutritional value, allowing the government to use it in the following ways:
- Food Security Programs (shelters, charity kitchens, EBT program replacement, etc.)
- Emergency relief (disaster response, supply chain disruption, famine, ect.)
- Foreign emergency food aid
- Sell to buyers (foreign and domestic)
- Space exploration (eventually; ship to Mars colony, etc.)
Decentralized Distribution and Logistics
The storage locations should be decentralized such that the preserved food is stored near the population it is expected to serve. Large population centers may have several sotarge locations, while rural areas should have at least one location per county. Citizens should be able to buy preserved food directly from the storage locations via an online store and have the food delivered by mail. The price of the preserved food should be tied to its remaining storage life. Food with a year or less worth of shelf life remaining will be donated.
Private retailers should also be encouraged to buy the preserved food to resale at local stores to increase the availability of the preserved food. Such retailers should get a discount so that they will not struggle to compete with purchases direct from the government storage locations.
Supply and demand of preserved food items should be tracked and prices (both when bought by the government and sold to consumers) should reflect that supply and demand and NOT remain fixed. Such free-market price management will naturally encourage the stored food to more closely reflect the quantities and types of food the population will be happy to consume and further reduce waste.
Public vs. Private Management
Aspects of the program may make sense to be turned over to the private sector, while others may need to be government run. I would appreciate it if people with a better understanding weigh in on this.
Economic Impact
- Farms and grocery stores get to make at least some proffit on food that would otherwise go to waste
- Availability of preserved foods may eventually compete with sale of fresh foods and may impact prices depending on how the stored food is managed
- May mitigate potential for food price inflation during times of crisis or shortages
- Cost of running the program may be offset by:
- Private purchases of preserved food
- Sale of preserved food to foreign countries
- Replacement of existing food security programs (like EBT/SNAP/etc.)
Your Thoughts?
I am sure there are many more good ideas scattered among the population! I am interested to hear how you would improve such a program!