Is it Time to Prepare Some Food Storage?
We see it in the news daily – a recession is looming and food prices continue to soar. We’ve seen the beginnings of food rationing and people are rushing to the stores to buy food – which drives the price of food up even further. A recent report in the Wall Street Journal even recommends that people start stockpiling food.
Is this really necessary?
The cost of food isn’t going to go down any time soon – experts say that it will continue to climb, but is it time to panic and stock our pantries? No, and yes. No, we shouldn’t panic, foolishly spend money, and rack up debt in order to buy cases of peanut butter and tuna fish. Yes, it would be a good idea to start thinking about getting prepared for the uncertain times ahead.
Be Prepared
I have five boys in my family, and I am very familiar with the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared. It’s a good idea to prepare for things that are ahead. The recession could result in unemployment for the breadwinner of the family. There could be unforeseen circumstances that affect the food supplies, making it harder to get food. Natural disasters could influence many aspects of the economy. We can’t predict exactly what will happen in the future. As the saying goes: We prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Hard times can hit anyone
Several years ago, my husband was laid off his well-paying job. While working at various small jobs until he could get back into his field again, he seriously injured his knee – which required surgery and months of physical therapy. I needed to stay home and take care of him and our newborn baby. It was a tough time for our family. Fortunately, we had some money in savings and some food storage to help us stay on our feet until my husband could get working again.
There are stories of tough times all across the country – and times may be getting worse.
It doesn’t have to be a catastrophe
When there is talk of getting prepared for hard times, I conjure up images of major disasters – the city is in shambles, people are in mile-long lines at the homeless shelter hoping to get a warm place to sleep. While we could be the victims of some disaster, and many of us have experienced that already, being prepared also helps us get through minor events.
Maybe we’re having a tight month because of some car repairs or medical bills. Having extra food on hand will help you get over the rough spots. What if the power goes out for a couple of days? You’d need some non-cook meals on hand. In my unprepared past, if the power went out, it was time to call the pizza man. What if the power outage was due to a snowstorm and the pizza man couldn’t get to your house – or the power was out in the whole city? That’s one reason why it’s good to have some food storage. A can of meat, some crackers, a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese, and a can of peaches could make a dandy, uncooked meal.
Don’t buy in a panic
When you go to the grocery store, put the Entenmann’s doughnuts back on the shelf, and buy a few extra cans of soup. You can gradually build up a reserve of food if you exchange some of your junk food for groceries that will help you get through a crisis – you’ll lose weight too! Make it a goal to purchase some extra food each shopping trip for your emergency stash. If your local grocery store is having a case-lot sale, budget money for some storage items.
Buy things that store well, provide the nutrition you need during a crisis, and are things you would eat. Canned items such as fruits, vegetables, soups, and beans store well. Dried goods such as flour, sugar, and powdered milk are also good things to have on hand. Don’t forget to include non-food items in your storage as well: a non-electric can opener, toilet paper, medicine, a propane cook stove with fuel, and extra blankets, just to name a few.
Have a designated place
Have a specific place to put your food storage, where possible. I live in an old house that has a forgotten coal storage room. We cleaned it out and put up a few shelves. Whenever I buy extra of an item, I put it in the coal room on the shelves. Now, if I could just keep my teenagers from getting into the emergency stash….
Try and find a dark, cool place for your storage. You could put up a few shelves in a cellar or basement. Maybe you have an extra closet or cupboard to keep some items for emergency purposes.
Being prepared brings a peace of mind
If we start now to gradually build up some food storage, we can have a peace of mind when hard times hit.
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You’re right, it doesn’t have to be a natural disaster in order for your food storage to come in handy. Years ago my husband was laid off for almost a year and having food storage and extra non-food items (like toilet paper, shampoo, soap, etc.) on hand was one of the ways we got through it fairly painlessly. I’ve also found that when you don’t have alot of storage space, under the bed works pretty good.