It's not the apocalypse yet...or is it? COVID-19 has shut down all non-essential businesses, restaurants are floundering, and we're all wondering exactly what items we should be stockpiling to keep us healthy and happy in the coming weeks during shelter in place.
We asked some of our favorite Bay Area entrepreneurs—from companies including McVicker Pickles, Vintner's Daughter, Daily Driver, and Marie Veronique of Marie Veronique—what they're stashing in their COVID-19 survival kits. Nintendo and a fish net, anyone?
Kelly McVicker, founder of McVicker Pickles
A jug of good old distilled white vinegar
"Besides making a decent non-toxic disinfectant, one jug would be enough to pickle a few months' worth of fresh veggies from the farmers market."
"This is my go-to salt for both vinegar pickling and fermenting. It's pure salt with no additives, and it's the best all-purpose salt for the price. It could also come in handy for curing meats or even preserving citrus."
"Now, I've never actually caught fish with a net, but I'm feeling confident on this one! Fish are a great protein source, and fishing is so meditative and relaxing. Mental health is also part of survival, so having something that doubles as therapy and a food source would ideal. And if any of the fish needed to be preserved for longer, see items #1 & 2. With some ingenuity, the net might even double as a decent hammock."
// Shop McVicker Pickles products and gift certificates at mcvickerpickles.com.
April Gargiulo, founder of Vintner's Daughter
April Gargiulo.
Vintner's Daughter's Active Botanical Serum and Active Treatment Essence
"They are the ultimate survival mode skincare duo because they provide complete skin nourishment and protection in two simple yet comprehensive steps."
Lady Falcon Cascara Loose Leaf Tea
"It will provide me with the steady buzz and antioxidants I would need to be my most alert and focused."
Elizabeth Few botanical dyed sleep mask
"To ensure I am fully rested to respond to the challenges of isolation and survival."
// Shop Vintner's Daughter at vintnersdaughter.com.
Vintner's Daughter's Active Botanical Serum and Active Treatment Essence
Hadley & David Kreitz, cofounders of Daily Driver
(Frankie Frankeny)
"Freezes and lasts forever. Let it soften, stretch, and bake on 400. I like a buttered pan with corn meal for the pan pizza bite, and anything goes as far as toppings (if you've ever had pizza in Seoul, you know what i'm talking about)."
Our housemade ghee
"Adds a nutty, buttery flavor and richness to all of your stockpiled food. Since the milk solids have been removed, it does not require refrigeration and can be kept at room temp for weeks. Also amazing on popcorn!"
"What can one say about all of your favorite 1980s Nintendo games in one little hdmi-connected package. Revisiting your hand-eye, Mario Brothers–coordination alone is worth the 100 bucks."
"Thankfully dispensaries have been deemed essential businesses! So turn the news off and take your stress-relieving bath to the next level."
// Daily Driver is open for pickup of bagels, cheese, and more; dailydriver.com.
Marie Veronique, founder of Marie Veronique
"My selections are all books. If you want comfort, look to the past and the epidemics (and tyrants) we've overcome. And maybe spend a few minutes thinking about what we can do to resolve the real existential threat facing us, which is climate change."
"A group of people who figure they are all going to die from the plague get together and tell stories. The stories are wonderful—some philosophical, some howlingly funny. Comedians today are still getting a lot of their material from the Decameron. They all do die at the end because this was the plague."
Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe
"Just a good read that will help you put current events in perspective. The positive note, while the plague Defoe writes about killed 75 percent of Europe, we finally figured out what caused it and now we can prevent it. On another bright note, the harvests the year after the plague died down were spectacular, because the ground was well fertilized."
"The trilogy about Thomas Cromwell by Hilary Mantel, The folks in the 1500s lived with plague that came and went, and usually died off in the winter because the rats and fleas were less numerous. They also had 'sweating sickness,' which took Cromwell's wife and two daughters in the space of a week. And they also had a succession of Tudor tyrants who slaughtered people right and left over religious differences. The mayhem (if not the plague season) settled down finally when Queen Elizabeth I took the throne."
// Shop Marie Veronique's clean beauty products at marieveronique.com.
