I've lost more than half my income due to COVID-19, so I'm growing a garden to help lower my family's grocery bills and stabilize our access to fresh food

Pepper, eggplant, and kale seedlings.Courtesy of Lindsey Danis

• Lindsey Danis is a freelance writer who lives in upstate New York.
• The pandemic has caused her to lose business amounting to more than half of her usual income.
• With no news from the unemployment office, Danis turned to her home garden and made plans to expand it to help stabilize her family's access to fresh food.
• "Growing my own food is the best way I know to curb fears of grocery-store scarcity, financial insecurity, and recession anxiety," says Danis.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the first wave of retailers closed down in New York's Hudson Valley in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, my wife and I headed to the garden center and loaded our hatchback with compost.

For the last three years, I've gardened for fresh air, exercise, and a personal supply of heirloom tomatoes. As COVID-19 upended my life, my garden became a strategic asset to get through the pandemic and the recession created in its wake.

As my freelance writing clients (small businesses, restaurants, and travel companies) shut down amid COVID-19, I lost at least 60% of my income. The last-minute compost run was my attempt to slash food costs and stabilize my family's fresh food access amid the coronavirus pandemic by growing an epic garden.

I've applied for pandemic unemployment and small-business assistance, but I don't know when or if I'll get financial help. While I may be able to telework, the majority of my clients no longer have work for me — restaurants aren't open and travel is on hold — and some may never resume their normal operation. I'm waiting on invoices from work completed in February, and I'm not sure when those will get paid.