Five Reasons to Store Food

by Marily | More from this Blogger

17 Jan 2007 08:24 AM

Here in the Preparedness blog I will be writing numerous articles on how to store food. But some of you may ask yourselves, "What is the point?" Even if you know on the surface that storing food is a good idea, can you imagine reasons that you might actually need to use your food storage? Are there other reasons other than extreme emergencies where it might be helpful to have stored food?

In order to be best prepared to use your food storage when you need it, it is necessary to think about what types of emergencies you are planning ahead for. By yourself or with your family, brainstorm some possible scenarios where it would be necessary or useful to have stored foods on hand. Your list will vary depending on your climate and other factors. Here are a few events to keep in mind:

Weather-related disasters Some of these may include:

* Being snowed in * Flooded or icy streets * Hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme storms

Loss of employment and/or income People that store food are most likely going to use it for a time when one or both adults are out of work. Having food stored at a time such as this takes away the stress of how to pay for food, and leaves the money you do have free to be used for other necessities.

Spike in grocery store prices If crops fail in some parts of the world one year causing a drastic rise in the price of specific grocery items, your family will have peace of mind knowing that you aren't relying on fluctuating costs in the food market.

Power outages Being without power is a scary thought in our day of microwave dinners and electronic gadgets. Storing food for when the grocery stores are closed (and knowing how to use it) is essential in keeping your family safe and provided for in an emergency.

Biohazard scare Today, concern people have is of a biohazard terrorist act that leaves us confined to our homes for safety. If this ever happened, you would be able to survive if you had food stored at home to sustain your family.

These are only a few of the reasons why you might choose to store food. Perhaps your reasons are completely different. Whatever your motivation is, think of storing food as a form of insurance on the life and welfare of those you love.

Related Articles:

The Importance of Food Storage

Food Storage: Five Miscellaneous Items to Store

Five Reasons to Use Food Storage

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Libby Pelham (12871) 17 Jan 2007 07:33 AM

I've always stored plenty of food (my husband would say too much) in our pantry and freezer. I just thought everyone did until recently. I guess I got it from my grandmother, who grew up during the Depression. Maybe she did it because she was from the country or maybe because she remembers when there wasn't much food - who knows. Anyhow, I like having plenty of stuff on hand.

Marily (836) 17 Jan 2007 08:29 AM

It's true, Libby that many people are going "paycheck to paycheck" with their food supply as well as their income. In fact, more and more people don't even make dinner at home, so they might have less than a week's worth of food in the house.

Lisa P (24013) 21 Jan 2007 05:36 AM

I used to be one of those paycheck-to-paycheck people. I'm pleased to say that I've seen the light! Last summer, I started watching sales, using coupons and just shopping smart. Eventually, I had a great stockpile of just about everything we'd need to live off for several months (all at about 25% of what I'd usually pay shopping week to week!). We were recently snowed in, just before Christmas, and only ran out of fresh milk. Thanks to powdered and condensed milks, we don't even need to worry about that! Just knowing that I don't NEED to go out and grocery shop every week is a relief. If I'm feeling under the weather or the weather is bad - no problem!

Katie-Anne Gustafsson (604) 24 Jan 2007 01:31 PM

My husband's like your's Libby, but you know what, he's the first in line to find out what supplies we have put by when we're on a short month financially! We're both freelancers and sometimes there's enough work for us to pay our bills with grocery money without having to think about taking the soda bottles back for the deposit money, and then there's times when that deposit money has actually paid for a package of diapers. Even with a steady income, I don't think that I'd ever just shop what was needed, I actually enjoy looking at my kitchen cupboards and freezer and seeing them full! For some reason it makes me feel safe!

Katie-Anne