Food Storage: An Emergency Management Tool
Article by Jaycee Fox
The world is changing, the economy is struggling and the chance that we may be out of work for a week, a month or a year has increased. The prices of food and clothing seem to be accelerating at a faster rate than our paychecks. We’re stressed out, we want to prepare, and we’re reeling our expenditures in, but what else can we do? There is a fairly simple way that can help in these hard times if we’re willing to plan and prepare. Food storage. Maybe we wish we’d done this sooner as we see the prices of food getting higher, if only we’d started this a year ago — stockpiled up on our grains etc. We can always begin immediately — right now — accumulate a little at a time, so if things do get even tougher, we have an ace up our sleeve.
We want to protect our family, have a positive outlook, get out of debt, have a budget and be smart with our finances, save money for a rainy day, invest wisely, or in other words — be a success. Food storage can be one piece to this puzzle. It can help in all of these areas and it is an investment.
Main Benefit: Investment
You may think food storage is an entire waste of money and effort. Food will always hold its worth — we’ll always need it, no matter if our economy is struggling or we use dollars or pesos. It’s a smart investment — an investment where you have minimum risk and maximum gain. If you’re starving, do you even care how much money you’ve invested somewhere? The ability to feed ourselves should be our highest priority.We have a lot of excuses. I know I do. I have a few token food items with a shelf life of 20 years, but I know that’s not adequate. We may tell ourselves that we don’t have enough money, or time, or room, or we’re clueless of where to begin. It’s a choice of prioritizing, and gaining the information we need.
So let’s begin by defining the two kinds of food storage: short term and long term — both are beneficial and essential in today’s economy.
Short-term Food StorageThis is about 3 months of storage of food that you eat on a daily basis. How much pasta does your family go through in three months, cans of corn etc.? Think of your common food items, make a list, and start building your storage. Look for these items when they go on sale — perhaps you’ll buy 10 packets of spaghetti at Safeway one day, and then you’ll be set for your pasta. As you use things from your storage, replenish them, and then you’ll always have a three month supply or more. Another tip is to join Costco or Sam’s club, and then each month you can choose an item that you’ll stockpile for a few months.
Long-term Food Storage
This entails having a 1-year supply of food storage. You could use the same method as above, but stockpiling for a year’s worth and taking into account the shelf life. Some items you won’t be rotating through as much as they can have an even longer shelf life — such as rice, beans, wheat — but when needed in an emergency you have them. Again, you can look for these items when they’re on sale. Maybe after 20 years, you’d have to replace the wheat, so you’d plan to break it open a year prior and use it up. In a bad situation, you could be rest assured that you’d be able to survive with your food storage items. You may have to make homemade bread from your wheat and start doing things from scratch with your basics but you’d also be feeding your family.
If this is something you’re interested in, don’t get overwhelmed. There are resources out there to help you get started, or you can create your own method. You can stockpile from your regular grocery store, purchase dehydrated food from specialty companies, or even can and freeze your own produce — or a variety to see what works best for you and your family and your budget. If you were to lose your job or have a pay cut, food expenditures would be minimal while you eat from your food storage. When you’re prepared, your fear is replaced with confidence and faith.
About the Author
Jaycee’s articles and her fiction novel focus on subjects which help in the pursuit of achieving a balanced life. If you’re interested in the many resources in helping to achieve that balance — even food storage helps — then go to Jaycee’s website, under cooking, at www.jayceeliving.com If you’re interested in Jaycee’s novel, then go to her author website at www.jayceefox.com