Today’s #coronadiary, 24/03/20
A tribute to the Small Shops of #Pisa – the bedrock of local #resilience and heroes for keeping us fed through this dreadful crisis. [1/x]
A tribute to the Small Shops of #Pisa – the bedrock of local #resilience and heroes for keeping us fed through this dreadful crisis. [1/x]
It’s day 15 of lockdown but we’ve never had any problems finding food – and no panic buying yet (it may be coming).
Why the big contrast with the horrendous scenes reported by friends in the US, UK, and elsewhere? [2/x]
Why the big contrast with the horrendous scenes reported by friends in the US, UK, and elsewhere? [2/x]
Four reasons:
1. Italy produces a lot of food.
2. Italians have strong links to local farming.
3. Many people can cook, preserve and forage for food.
4. Lots of Small Shops [3/x]
1. Italy produces a lot of food.
2. Italians have strong links to local farming.
3. Many people can cook, preserve and forage for food.
4. Lots of Small Shops [3/x]
Italy imports bulk products like soy and wheat but is famous for growing foods that are the bedrock of its culture.
99% of farms are small (7 hectares on average) and family run. Farming is intertwined with tourism – there are nearly 25,000 farms you can go and stay on. [4/x]
99% of farms are small (7 hectares on average) and family run. Farming is intertwined with tourism – there are nearly 25,000 farms you can go and stay on. [4/x]
Many farm part-time – 2 million Italians spend less than a quarter of their worktime on their land.
Families often have an orto, or a few vines or olive trees, that have been passed down the generations. [5/x]
Families often have an orto, or a few vines or olive trees, that have been passed down the generations. [5/x]
Go for a long walk in the country and you’ll mostly meet foragers, not other walkers.
Our neighbours press assorted greenery into our hands that they’ve picked from the fields and hedgerows. [6/x]
Our neighbours press assorted greenery into our hands that they’ve picked from the fields and hedgerows. [6/x]
When lockdown loomed, many families will have been reassured by cellars full of passata and other preserves (
(Though it being Spring, our stock from last summer is beginning to run out).
Watch the ritual on the ever-wonderful @pastagrannies [7/x]
(Though it being Spring, our stock from last summer is beginning to run out).
Watch the ritual on the ever-wonderful @pastagrannies [7/x]
All this will have fed a confidence that food was highly unlikely to run out.
But you still have to get the food from field to plate.
That’s where Small Shops come into play. [8/x]
But you still have to get the food from field to plate.
That’s where Small Shops come into play. [8/x]
The Little Ships of Dunkirk – 850 assorted yachts, pleasure boats, fishing vessels, and the like – helped rescue British and allied soldiers from Dunkirk.
Their shallow draft allowed them to get to beaches inaccessible to the Royal Navy. maritime-executive.com/blog/the-littl… [9/x]
Their shallow draft allowed them to get to beaches inaccessible to the Royal Navy. maritime-executive.com/blog/the-littl… [9/x]
Pisa’s Small Shops play a similar role in the resilience of our food supply.
Here’s a virtual tour of six shops where we’re regulars – out of maybe 40 or 50 (!!!) within a 10-minute walk of our house. [10/x]
Here’s a virtual tour of six shops where we’re regulars – out of maybe 40 or 50 (!!!) within a 10-minute walk of our house. [10/x]
Pierino is 75.
He runs a “pizzicheria” – a grocery or a deli – with Dan, his Nepalese apprentice who replaced Pierino’s brother (right) when he retired. [11/x]
He runs a “pizzicheria” – a grocery or a deli – with Dan, his Nepalese apprentice who replaced Pierino’s brother (right) when he retired. [11/x]
Pierino willingly serves elderly customers with tiny quantities of cheese and ham (“un pezzettino!”) when they do their daily shop.
Given his age, he’s taking a big risk for us by keeping working through the epidemic. [12/x]
Given his age, he’s taking a big risk for us by keeping working through the epidemic. [12/x]
Deliveries go out by bicycle (you can see it outside their shop)
They are now in such GREAT demand that we’ve tried to volunteer to help. [13/x]
They are now in such GREAT demand that we’ve tried to volunteer to help. [13/x]
We buy fish from Federica. I have her cookbook too.
The day after lockdown, I got a slightly scornful look when I worried they their counter looked unusally bare.
Nothing to do with coronavirus, I was told, storms had stopped the local fishing fleet putting out to sea. [14/x]
The day after lockdown, I got a slightly scornful look when I worried they their counter looked unusally bare.
Nothing to do with coronavirus, I was told, storms had stopped the local fishing fleet putting out to sea. [14/x]
In better times, veg and bootleg wine (2 euros a bottle) come from the twice-weekly local market – a stall run by a family who drive 45 minutes up the coast to sell what they grow on their farm.
Local honey comes from Riccardo’s stall next door. [15/x]
Local honey comes from Riccardo’s stall next door. [15/x]
Now that the mayor has banned markets, we go to an amazing greengrocer.
I can’t find a picture, so here’s the nextdoor cheesemaker – strapline “a dairy in the city”. I am addicted to their scamorza. friscu.com/en/ [16/x]
I can’t find a picture, so here’s the nextdoor cheesemaker – strapline “a dairy in the city”. I am addicted to their scamorza. friscu.com/en/ [16/x]
Finally – our bakery where Maurizio sells us pane salata (not the unsalted bread that Tuscans adore), focaccia, pie, and much else.
Maurizio is from Livorno (but don’t hold that against him). He calls me “caro” [dear] and pops free schiacciatina into our bag. [17/x]
Maurizio is from Livorno (but don’t hold that against him). He calls me “caro” [dear] and pops free schiacciatina into our bag. [17/x]
In each Small Shop, the food is delicious and – the fish apart – relatively inexpensive.
But it has taken this pandemic for me to appreciate the hidden subsidy they provide for local #resilience. [18/x]
But it has taken this pandemic for me to appreciate the hidden subsidy they provide for local #resilience. [18/x]
1. Diversity - a legion of Small Shops scattered across a city of just 90,000 people.
2. Hedging – you can buy bread in the grocer, wine from the veg stall, cheese and meat in the bakery. Any ONE of these shops could sustain a healthy and balanced diet. [19/x]
2. Hedging – you can buy bread in the grocer, wine from the veg stall, cheese and meat in the bakery. Any ONE of these shops could sustain a healthy and balanced diet. [19/x]
3. Redundancy. Unlike just-in-time supermarkets, each Small Shop carries far more stock than you’d expect for its size.
4. Most of all, trust. Why panic buy if a shopkeeper you know by name assures you s/he is experiencing no interruptions in supply? [20/x]
4. Most of all, trust. Why panic buy if a shopkeeper you know by name assures you s/he is experiencing no interruptions in supply? [20/x]
But the Small Shops are the bedrock of a sector that is decried as "fragmented and resistant to change.”
They are part of the reason why Italy is mocked for its low productivity. [21/x]
export.gov/apex/article2?…
They are part of the reason why Italy is mocked for its low productivity. [21/x]
export.gov/apex/article2?…
And they’re under threat as giant supermarket chains take advantage of deregulation to invest hundreds of millions of euros in mid-sized formats that are DESIGNED to drive Small Shops out of business. [22/x]
With the lean business model of Big Food buckling under the pandemic’s strain, maybe the Pisan local government will learn from this epidemic.
And act to keep its fleet of Small Shops alive. [23/x]
And act to keep its fleet of Small Shops alive. [23/x]
In the meantime, we're TREMENDOUSLY grateful for their sacrifices and the risks they're taking.
And I hope you'll pump money into your local shops both during and after lockdown. [24/24]
And I hope you'll pump money into your local shops both during and after lockdown. [24/24]
