Menu Diversity

Calorie fountains can grow lots of different crops, so in theory, they can provide families with a varied and satisfying menu of foods. But most people have limited space to work with and don't want to spend all of their time managing the system, so in practice, the variety of foods available on your table will depend on which of its three basic modes you're operating in.

In supplemental mode, your fountain is not being used as your primary food source, so you can grow whatever you like. I expect most people in this mode will be using it to supplement their kitchen with fresher produce than they're able to get elsewhere, or possibly to provide items that are difficult to find locally. Your family's menu diversity in this mode is limited only by your imagination. (And maybe by your cooking skills.)

In balanced mode, your fountain is tuned to provide the full daily allotment of nutrients recommended in national nutritional guidelines. Consequently, this is where you want to be operating if your fountain is going to be your primary food source. How exciting your menu might be will depend on how creative you are with its more limited set of crops.

Finally, there is crisis mode in which we're not concerned with how good the food tastes or even how complete the nutritional profile is. This is about squeezing every possible calorie out of the system. It may not be fun, but you'll still be alive after the crisis to complain about it. This is intended for short, high-stress situations, and operation is expected to revert to one of the other modes as soon as possible.

But there is no button

Be aware that there is no actual switch to flip or button to press that will put your fountain into a particular mode. A calorie fountain is just a farming system, and it will grow whatever crops you decide to give it. What I'm calling modes are really just labels I've assigned to the distinct usage scenarios that fountaineers might find themselves facing. They help me plan for the different circumstances the system might be used in, and the different parameters that need to be prioritized in those situations.

In practice, each mode will be more like a different configuration of the system, with space requirements, crop selections, and even equipment selections tuned to the specific circumstances.