Food Shortage
From Project Rebearth
Food Shortage is an automatic penalty that is applied when a settlement's 
Food supply runs out. It inflicts a severe -50% happiness penalty that persists until food production is restored.
Effects
[edit]| Effect | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Happiness | -50% | Reduces settlement happiness by 50% |
The -50% happiness penalty is the harshest single modifier in the game. It will almost certainly push a settlement's happiness low enough to trigger strikes, further compounding the crisis by reducing production output.
Details
[edit]Food Shortage is automatically applied when a settlement's Food supply reaches zero. It cannot be manually activated or disabled through the Choices menu. The penalty is removed as soon as the settlement's food supply is restored above zero.
The Food Shortage penalty stacks with all other happiness modifiers. Settlements already running happiness-reducing choices like Taxation (-30%) or Cramped Quarters (-30%) will see their happiness drop to critically low levels.
Strategy
[edit]Preventing a Food Shortage should be a top priority. The -50% happiness penalty is devastating and triggers a cascade of problems: strikes reduce production, which makes it harder to recover food supply, which prolongs the shortage.
Maintaining a food surplus through diverse food sources is the best defense. Fields (potato and maize types), Fisheries, Bakeries, Creameries, and Foraging Huts all contribute to Food production. Keeping a healthy stock of Food in storage provides a buffer against temporary production dips.
If a Food Shortage occurs, immediately prioritize food recovery. Consider enabling Low Rations (×0.8 food consumption) or Vegan Society (+20% food production) to help restore the food supply faster. Importing Food through the Market or Port is another quick fix, though it requires 
Coin.
