There are a variety of reasons why having food storage could benefit your family somewhere down the road. If you or your spouse were to lose your job, having a healthy food storage to dip into could be essential while money is tight. If someone in the family were to become chronically ill, it could help save money or trips to the store to have food storage handy. Preparing for natural disasters is also a huge reason why people choose to store food. Earthquakes, hurricanes or just severe storms can make it difficult or impossible to leave the house or go to the store. Knowing that you have food to sustain your family in the comfort of your own home can ease your mind when unexpected life circumstances occur.
The idea of building up food storage can be overwhelming and you may not know where to start. We are going to look at how to get begin and then build your food storage over time.
Start Simple
Food storage can be as easy as buying a few extra items each time you are at the grocery store. Try to start with food that your family eats now. If your family enjoys pasta, grab a few extra bags of noodles and spaghetti sauce the next time they are on sale. Designate a place in your home for food storage and slowly add to it after each grocery store trip. Make sure you look at expiration dates and choose items that have a lengthy amount of time before they expire; this will allow you to keep food in storage longer. Looking at weekly ads will help you get food while it is on sale so you don't have to break the bank when you are starting out.
72 Hour Kits
Once you have a few essentials in your food storage, you can start to individualize your storage to fit the specific needs of your family. This might mean adding a few goodies to your storage. Having the essentials that would sustain your family in the event of a disaster is obviously the first place to start. Adding a few fun treats like jello, cake mixes, or fruit snacks will allow your family to live comfortably and happily if you ever had to live on food storage for an extended period of time. You can also create 72-hour kits for each member of your family to put with your food storage. A 72-hour kit is a kit for each family member that has everything that each individual would need for 72 hours. This means food, water, clothing, and toiletries. Typically these kits are put into a backpack that you could grab if you needed to leave the house in a hurry. Having one for each family member can ease your mind in the event of an emergency.
Plan for the Future
Now that you have the essentials, a few goodies and 72-hour kits, you are ready to dive into the long-term options for food storage. A good goal to shoot for is trying to build up enough food for every person in your family for at least three months. This could mean freeze dried food, water barrels, or freezing food. When you start storing food long term, it is important to consider your method of storing. Storing you food with quality products can extend their shelf life. Using foodsaver bags can protect your food and keep it fresh. Placing bagged items in sealed plastic containers can protect them from rodents. Once you start to invest in your food storage, you want to make sure it is protected so it can last as long as possible.
Planning for the future and building up your food storage can give you peace of mind now and potentially safeguard your family down the road. Starting simple and slowly building is a great way to start growing your food storage without breaking the bank. You never know what life is going to throw at you, preparing now will benefit your family for those unexpected events in the future.