Wild Diversity

By Sofia Baum Photo credit: Myles Tan Cooking in the outdoors is a fun, satisfying, and ever-evolving experience that can be nurturing for our communities, both literally and spiritually. With just a little patience, care, and some planning, we can all be well-fed and thriving in the wilderness. Before jumping in, a quick reminder that whenever you're cooking — indoors or outdoors — you should always practice food safety. Plan out your meals to inform how and what to pack. Depending on the amount of days and the activity, you may have to bring your food in coolers, sealed containers, or food bags; if you're backpacking, you should hang food in a tree away from your sleep system and gear to avoid damage from animals. You should also be following the seven principles of Leave No Trace , especially those involving consumption and waste. Meals that are well-planned lead to safer and more satisfying experiences overall. When preparing food outdoors, the most important decisi...

Over the past decade, grocery stores have been popping up in neighborhoods traditionally known as food deserts where residents had a lack of access to fresh produce.  The common perception was, if grocery stores were added to these areas, it will help provide healthier dietary habits as opposed to having access only to fast food or processed food.  However, research shows that only by adding grocery stores does not change people’s grocery shopping habits or dietary habits. Why is that?  Food deserts are more common in low income and minority neighborhoods where families are often working multiple jobs, living paycheck to paycheck while having to take care of their kids on their own. Because of this, just by having access to a grocery store with fresh produce is not going to solve the economic inequalities. Communities need fresh healthy food they can actually afford, being paid a livable wage instead of working multiple jobs and the education necessary to put tog...