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Supermarket Squatters

In an abandoned grocery store, farmers offer more than affordable food
TinyTegan

When Amsterdam's last Tesco closed, people started to panic. Without the oil required to ship supermarket goods across continents - not to mention strict Dutch laws against imported goods - the international food giant just couldn't keep its shelves stocked. And no one knew how long the government rations were going to last.

But then, just a few weeks later, I saw people inside the abandoned store when I was walking past. I thought someone might have found a few hidden boxes of Ramen, and wanted to get my share, so I climbed through the shattered front door. In the defunct produce section there was no Ramen but, instead, a group of ragged farmers trading cheese, meat, sugar beets, potatoes, bread and more. My first thought was that I had stumbled upon some sort of black market and that I should probably run for my life. But then a young woman saw me standing in awe and motioned for me to come try some apples she had for sale. 

I purchased one for a resaonable fee and asked her where she had come from. She explained that these farmers were part of a virtual collective, sharing agricultural tips and political news across Netherland's rural expanses - and that the urban food shortage has inspired them to start a co-op in the city. They had arrived that morning and were planning to open their doors the next day. Needless to say, I was ecstatic and asked what I could do to help. She said, 'Spread the word.'

So, I did. And the next day, the abandoned Tesco was flooded with people who were pushing and yelling in an attempt to get closer to the makeshift stalls. By 2 p.m., all the food was gone. I felt the panic grip my chest again when I saw the farmers packing their bushels back onto their horse-drawn carts. I approached the woman and asked her when they would return. She replied, nex week.

Given the month and the yield, the amount and selection of food the farmers bring each week varies. But the people who show up are always the same. And unlike the Tesco, the market is not seen as a quick place to visit on your way home. People linger, discuss the issues that are effecting our community - and come up with plans. 

One such initiative has invovled taking seeds provided by the farmers and sewing them in VondelPark. A few people have even bought calves and turned one of its old pavilions into a barn. The tiny community garden we have begun can't start to feed the city's overwhelming population, even with the farmers' help. But it's a start.

Oct 09


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  • DarkOptimism
    Oct 10
    Hah, brilliant! Love this re-use of the defunct infastructure. Our little supermarket is now a bike shop, but I think we missed a trick on this one :D
  • InJun
    Oct 10
    It\\\'s a good idea, but I\\\'m concerned as to whether this is actually viable for the problem of famine; to feed the growing population we need large-scale production of food. This is a good idea, but I think its best deployment would be as a supplement to food production industries, so that the Big Machines (sic) can focus on producing core staples, not expensive, impractical luxuries.
  • rtgarden2019
    Oct 10
    collecting and trading seeds of useful plants is such an important part of daily activities. If you have waste space you may find enough neighbors willing to garden a good sized piece together. Our first collective garden was started at our weekly farmers market.
  • Ruud Dirven
    Oct 14
    We live 50 miles from Amsterdam, and it's a hard sell here. The Netherlands switched from a farming based community to being a largely service-centered economy in the 90s and the vast majority of farms were constructed to use insane amounts of animal feed, sunlight lamps, heating, lots of water or trucks with fertillizer. When all those became unaffordable, or unimportable, most farms vanished. So much land was lost to factory houses. Nice story all these re-used infrastructure and supermarkets, but it's not happening in most places. Local food growing is very sparse, very inefficient, causes no end of argument between neighbours. It feeds people but foods grown are onesided products. We are seeing an increase in potatoe farms and cabbage. Even considering all that, there are 18 million people in the netherlands. Many left, to ireland, poland, scandinavia, many still remain. The netherlands, if we tore down all new factory & business parks erected in the 90s and oughts, could feed 3 million, even using highly labour intensive programs the New Populist Right propose ("let the idle work for their food, if they dont want to, there's always voluntary euthanasia") how about feeding half the population who is over 65, and cannot be expected to perform labour intensive work. Essentially I was flabberghasted by the human interest story I saw on *american* blogs no less. It was a heartwarming feelgood story - but I am affraid it has no basis in reality. I makes people hope we will all be able to scrape out a comfortable living gardening and making virtual economy items, and things will be great after all. I think all that is just cake, and a lie. We might end up betting on a pipedream, waste enormous effort on these "silly victory garden" programs, which end up feeding not nearly enough people, causing black marketeering, causing riots. We need big government plans to feed us, whatever it takes. Anyone who starts daydreaming about these garden projects - take a walk in the densely built inner cities. Take a walk by sprawling projects or highrizes. Now imagine brownouts, cold winters, civil unrest, no fertilizer, water rations. It's immoral to assume all those people will find a way to feed themselves. Sure, the hobbits and their gardens will feed themselves, even if it takes vigilante guards walking rounds all night during harvest season - but the teeming inner city poor will be left increasingly desperate.
  • Lady21
    Oct 14
    This report gives me great hope during bleak times. I wonder if local community groups can band together and network with close by communities so as to share the workload and the yield. For the long term, as long as the Tesco remains closed and the farmers are allowed to sell their products there, it would be worth looking into having a governmental body overseeing this.
  • PlaNetweaver
    Oct 14
    Brilliant. Thanks for posting. I am focusing on generating/sustaining a default hum of wellbeing in my body/heart and this is a fine story to take into my night sleep to In-Form my dreams. It IS after all, down to us to re-imagine our World.
  • kriss10
    Oct 18
    In 2007 we became customers of a biological food distribution network, run by the hofwebwinkel and the kemphaan. Some of it is still in place, as they were very self reliant. Other farmers are turning to them for tips and trics to farm their way. It is just that you are very much bound to the seasonal restrictions and you need to reinvent ways to preserve. The local ' volkstuinvereniging" ( peoples gardens, involved with growing vegetables and flowers in the city since 1975) is selling as well, but their prices are very high. Up here ( flevoland)
  • Miles Wilkerson
    Nov 02
    It's sort of simillar in Atlanta, but it's happening in Wal-Marts and other U.S. stores.
  • taradyke
    Nov 12
    This is really wonderful! It really is building the "community" closer in a number of ways. I wonder if everyone pitched in- contributing if it would be able to stay open longer than day. It is amazing what happens when people help one another with a genuine hand- to sim