In the area where I live there are numerous, widely-spaced sources of nourishment to which I must travel to, for it is my born duty as a gatherer to obtain sustenance. I assemble my provisions under certain Conditions Of Gatherment, these conditions being mainly ones that I set. What are these conditions?

Number one is simply that the foodstuffs be available. I can count on certain establishments to have on their premises the items I am looking for but they are not always in stock. Most of the time they are. If not, I wait until I hit up that store again or I will try to find what I am looking for at my Plan B establishments.

Secondly, the item must meet certain price criteria for my resources are limited. I am not alone in this, it is called shopping.

Thirdly, the item must meet my quality control standards, which are high, for I partake of no outdated food, food of dubious origin, food containing an abundance of chemicals, genetically altered food, or food high in salt, fat, and sugar. This is my general (but not always followed!) rule.

Over time, and through much exploration, I have acquired a mental list of where the substances that I desire are located. I know the trails through my particular not-so-urban forest and to which establishments they lead. One trail leads to my primary source of quality protein, another to where righteous produce can be found. Others take me to where I can stock up on my desired brands, foods I consume in quantity, or to places selling speciality items I can find nowhere else. Along the way I also gather up items that can be commonly found at just about any stop. In addition to the trails mentioned there are still others, leading mostly to known sources of prepared nourishment that I will happily acquire, from time to time, if I happen to be in the locale and am in the mood for particular tastes. Some of these secondary food sources are at odds with my financial resources so that impact is always taken into consideration.

The time of day and day of the week I do my gathering is highly important to me for others may be foraging as well, possibly en masse! To be amongst a crowd of foragers takes some degree of patience, which I have learned over time is key to dealing with that situation. If I find myself in some sort of rugby scrum scenario I endure the bustle, acquire my goods, then rapidly head for my far away-parked transportation for my partially perishable hoard must be taken to my cache, pantry, coolerator, and cupboards, they being never so full that they can’t be stocked up with more. There may be gained a few days then where my foraging duty is able to be curtailed but it must in time be resumed, and better earlier than later, for there have been times- many- where I shirked my duty and deeply regretted it. In those instances I either was left staring at a recipe that I had not the ingredients for, forcing me to make do with what ingredients I had on hand or I (sigh) abandoned the cooking effort altogether, temporarily let down my stringent dietary guard, and partook of an ill-matched variety of foodstuffs in order to gratify my temple.

Luxury indeed it would be to not have to forage, or even to have my food permanently(!) prepared for me, but methinks I would quickly lose my foraging and food preparation skills and be dependent on the people and services that supported this dysfunction. Not the direction I want to go.

Foraging takes time, this I understand, cope with, and accept. It would be a blessing to be able to access all my food at one location but…. …that is not going to happen in the foreseeable future. I also know I couldn’t go long without certain specialty items for there are times when I’m Jones’n for something and just have to go and get it, no matter the distance I have to travel or price I must pay.

Furthermore, the introduction of a robotic foraging device or home food delivery service wouldn’t be able to keep me from foraging. I must be a part of the process of gathering, even if all I’m doing is buying packaged goods. I want to know that my stuff isn’t being taken out of some stale warehouse and that the staff is conscientious. Maybe the food I’m purchasing is being made in tanks, and much of it probably is, but at least it’s being done partially by humans and not entirely by machines. I want that human quality to always be involved. (With some people more and with others, less!).

Today is a day off, my foraging is complete for awhile. But I’ll be back at it again soon. It’s a chore, yeah, but it’s also part of life. Can you imagine a world without it?

I can’t.