US Recession Closer as Economic Growth Heads for Zero

I found this article in an online U.K news paper (The Times

The US economy is on the brink of recession, with growth grinding to a halt because of what will probably be America’s worst housing slump on record, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday...

It goes on to say:

..the OECD predicted that American economic growth would be close to zero in the present quarter and the next, taking it to the edge of the two consecutive quarters of decline that define a technical recession.

I've been reading another ATS thread The US Dollar is Done! which a lot of people have posted their ideas about why the US is currently seeing an economic downturn. But not many are saying what a recession actually means to us common men and women? How will it really affect us? I've heard few theories suggest high-unemployment, high food costs, higher crime rates and more government meddling; but, does a recession always mean that prices, crime and unemployment rise? Can't people just go on producing and doing but in a more insular way i.e more national trade, less global trade?

And what can people do to prepare for a recession? Will pulling money out of the bank really help? I don't think it will - when it's worthless, it's worthless, doesn't matter where it is. Will buying loads of food keep us fed? I think it could help but not for as long as expected especially when friends and family come knocking. Can't farms keep producing food to keep food prices low enough for people to buy?

This situation isn't just confined to the US. The (European) Central Banks have just given 35 Billion GBP of fresh emergency credit to the global economy:

Central bankers stepped up efforts to pump funds into the global financial system today as Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, met heads of the UK's five biggest banks following days of stock market turmoil and rumours of market manipulation by short-sellers.

The European Central Bank offered €15 billion for auction and 44 banks applyed for €65.8 billion. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve said it will offer $25 billion to banks.

What can we common folk do to help each other's nations out of this situation? How many of us are willing to do it? (Of course, here I'm taking about changing our purchasing habits).