Since we live on a frozen, plant-free continent, the food we get at McMurdo is flown in from New Zealand. Once it has arrived on station, it’s stored in the frozen food warehouse across from the building 155.
The warehouse staff had a “Freezer to Table” open house at the beginning of November, where the McMurdo public could go inside, climb the 30-foot stack of cardboard boxes in wooden crates, and have their photo taken with “Bendi” the forklift.
And, of course, see where their food comes from.
It was fun to visit, but also humbling to see the boxes of frozen food and think about the enormous amount of resources it takes to feed the staff at McMurdo. Although people here take recycling VERY seriously and celebrate a culture of sharing and reusing clothes, supplies, and other resources (more on that later), we create a very large carbon footprint with our food.
Elizabeth Delaquess 