All County Picnic to highlight food resilience on Aug. 18

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When disaster strikes, turn to your neighbors. And what better way to meet your neighbors than at an all county picnic? Now in its seventh year, the All County Picnic, hosted by Thunderbull Productions, the Local 2020 and the Jefferson County Department of Emergency, is a time when Jefferson County community members can get together, celebrate summer, meet one another and learn how to be prepared in the event of a disaster. This year’s picnic, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 18 at HJ Carroll Park, will highlight food resilience. “When you give thought to where we live and the very real possibility of a natural disaster, if the bridge closed and the highway was impassable for some reason, we’d be stuck here,” said Keppie Keplinger, who works with the county’s Department of Emergency. “People need to be better prepared and it’s a good opportunity for people to share what they’ve done to be prepared.” The All County Picnic was started seven years ago to bring people together around the idea of emergency preparedness, said Danny Milholland, whose event production company, Thunderbull Productions, is helping organize the picnic. “It’s designed to bring people together,” he said. “There is free food, games for kids and this year there will be over 40 booths with information.” This year’s focus on food resilience is a way to highlight how community members and neighborhoods can work together to grow their own food, store food and rely on each other to stay alive and well-fed during a disaster event. Picnic attendees will walk away with knowledge about how to filter and purify water, how to grow your own groceries, creating a go-kit and stocking up on emergency supplies. “We’re going to be talking about the types of food people can stash away,” Keplinger said. “Especially with an older community, you need to personalize your stash. A lot of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) are high in sodium and not necessarily good for you.” Keplinger will be teaching a demonstration on making go kits, which are bags that contain survival tools such as food, a flashlight and warm clothes, in case of an emergency. The picnic will also provide community members with the chance to meet with local emergency management and first responders from the Port Townsend Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, East Jefferson Fire Rescue, Port Ludlow Fire and Quilcene Fire Department.