Exploring Life Without a Supermarket

By ERIN BARRETTE GOODMAN

Strawberries in December. Tomatoes in February. Eggs and dairy year round.

These are all foods that many of us consume without much thought, thanks to our local grocery store and a sophisticated shipping industry that allows us to enjoy foods from around the globe year-round.

But what if we didn’t have the ability to ship produce from the tropics to Southern New England’s grocery stores? What if there weren’t even grocery stores?

What if everything you needed for your family had to be found in nature? How do you think you’d fare?

In a recent workshop at the Connecticut Museum of Natural History called Life without a Supermarket, participants got an in-depth look at how Native people acquired everything they needed – food, shelter, clothing, medicine, toys, tools, everything – from the natural world.  

Led by archeologists Dr. Mary Harper and Heather Alexson, both of the Public Archeology Survey Team, the two-hour workshop gave participants a chance to explore all four New England seasons and what natural resources are available at each time.  

 grinding corn at the workshop

Lizzie Collins, 8, of Windsor CT, grinds corn during a recent workshop at the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History.

They learned how Native Americans organized “deer drives” in late fall and how they utilized every part of the animals they hunted.

“There was no wasting like we do today,” Harper told the group. “Jaw bones became corn scrapers. Antlers were used as tools. Rawhide was used to make snowshoes. Hooves were used for glue.”

Similarly, the group learned how corn was used – first and foremost as a food source – but the husks were also used to make dolls for children’s play and the cobs as stoppers for water vessels and to burn while smoking leather.

The participants also each got to try their hand at grinding corn in a tree trunk mortar and enjoyed sampling “yokeag” – a tasty mixture of corn, maple sugar, seeds and dried berries.

During the interactive workshop, Alexon and Harper emphasized the communal nature of harvesting and storing foods.

“There are not enough hours in the day for one family to harvest and store all the food they need for a year,” Alexon noted. “That is why it has always been such a community event.”

 
Get involved

Speaking of community, there are a number of ways to get involved in the fast-growing local food scene here in Southern Rhode Island, and to at least begin explore life outside of the supermarket.

Go to www.farmfresh.org for a list of farmer’s markets, including the winter farmer’s market that opened this year in Pawtucket.

You can also search Farm Fresh RI’s website for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, which allow members to purchase a share of the harvest from a farm and assist with the labor that brings forth the harvest.

And if you should want to learn how to preserve all the local foods gathered this growing season, you might consider a road trip out to the University of Connecticut at Storrs for an upcoming workshop at the Museum of Natural History.

The museum will present, Preserving our Harvests, on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to noon, where participants will learn about various styles of canning jars that were used in different time periods, the science of canning and the dos and don’ts of safely preserving the harvest. Cost is $15 per person and advance registration is required. Children ages eight and up are welcome to attend with an adult. Call 860-486-4460 to register.

For more information visit the museum’s website at www.cac.uconn.edu.

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