An important resource to have in times of need is a good food storage. When I have talked to others about having an emergency supply of food in place, I have received laughter and ridicule. I even had a neighbor to tell me when he needed emergency food, he would just come to my place. I jokingly informed him not to bother as I had a supply of ammunition as well. Too many people have come to rely on the grocery store. But the threat of a snow storm here in Kentucky clears out the milk and bread in record time, this should be a testament of what it might be like should the trucks not come.
From childhood, my parents taught me the importance of having an emergency supply of food in place. I grew up in eastern Kentucky where jobs were not plentiful. As a result, my father changed jobs a few times. Fortunately, the pantry that my parents filled in times of feast, fed our family of five in times of want, until my father found the next job. If there was such a thing as unemployment or food stamps back then, I never knew. My dad would go out and find work quickly and mom would continue to squirrel away food to feed us.
There are some guidelines for emergency food storage. It is recommended that you have two weeks of water per person and year’s supply of food, clothing and if possible, fuel in your storage. A first aid kit is also recommended.
An important part of any food storage system is to have on hand the basics: flour, grains, beans/legumes, oils, rice, salt, sugar/honey, and water just to name a few. These basics can help you to sustain your life if you are prepared in every needful way.
My mother taught me to store items, in addition to these that families will eat every day. Therefore, my storage not only contains these key items, it contains items that are foods we eat every day. I store condiments, peanut butter, soups, jams, jellies, canned vegetables (both store bought and home grown), cake mixes, pasta, pasta helpers, nuts, fruits, crackers, oatmeal, canned meats (store bought and home canned), etc. etc.
The key to a good food storage is usage. If you store something you don’t use or eat, it will eventually go bad and you will have to replace it. If you store something you use, then you will just replace it as you go along and your food storage will stay fresh and replenished.
Replenishing your food storage, especially in light of rising food prices today, can be an expense. I have my pantry to a level where most of my replenishing can be done cheaply. I get the sales ad and purchase what is on sale. If ketchup is on sale, I buy several. We use this item, so it won’t go to waste. If cereal is on sale, I get several boxes. If ground beef is on sale, I load the cart down, go home and prep several meatloaves and throw them in the freezer. Then over the next couple of weeks, while these items are no longer on sale, my pantry is stocked with them and I can go to the next item. Let’s say next week, pasta is on sale, or sugar. That is the week to stock up on that item.
To make the deal even sweeter, you can go online to your favorite coupon list and search for coupons that you can trade for and use on the sale items. Before you shy away from this, read on. With a good sale and coupons, you can save thousands of dollars over time. Once, I went to Kroger’s and using coupons, I actually walked out with $100 worth of groceries and $30 more in cash than I had when I walked in. This doesn’t normally happen, they normally won’t give you cash, and I asked the head cashier repeatedly if she was sure she could give me money.
Also, the Kroger’s supermarket cash registers print coupons out at the point of sale. I have found free drinks, free eggs, and other items free or cheap. There are a lot of complexities to using coupons that I haven’t even explored myself. But it is a good resource. Check out www.mycoupons.com, www.hotcouponworld.com and there are so many more free sites.
Another good thing to do is utilize your own back yard. It doesn’t matter if yosu own 100 acres or a back door terrace, grow something and preserve it for later use. Or, better yet, eat it now to save your reserves. Fresh grown vegetables are so good for you and they don’t have all the chemicals and preservatives added to them. You know what’s in them, because you grew them. Nothing tastes as good as something you grew yourself.
Even in a small confined space, you can grow in containers or boxes. For years, I have grown straight from the bag. I take a bag of dirt and cut an “X” in it, flip it over and cut the plastic out. Nestled up against my house or out building, I plant two tomatoes in the bag. I add composted manure to the dirt in the bag. I also place worms there to enrich the soil. I also grind up my kitchen scraps and pour around the soil. I repeat this process every year and eventually I have built very rich vegetable beds.
This year my husband and I canned several jars of green beans, pickles, pickled okra, tomatoes, salsa, strawberry jam, grape jelly, beef, pork, chicken, soup and chili. It was so much fun and fills you with pride knowing you have actually put away healthy food without harmful preservatives for your family.
Another trick that will add to your storage preservation is eating your weeds [from un-sprayed areas]. A lot of the plants that are found in the wild are partially edible. I have just begun researching this and have discovered several varieties of wild plants in my yard that are edible. My backyard is covered in young poke salet, which I have tried. My mother in law used the young leaves and cooked it with eggs. This is a traditional dish in eastern Kentucky. I am very leery of this plant as it can be very toxic is not prepared correctly. Perhaps this is a plant to put on the “If there is nothing else to eat” list. There are many other plants that are edible, and this would be a good skill to learn in order to survive.
This month, we will be getting a local raised cow. The cost will average $2 per pound. This will be mostly canned, but some frozen for later use. Another advantage to canning meat as opposed to freezing it is that you can open it and eat the meat straight from the jar. If frozen, you will need to thaw and cook. If we are in times of survival, having the meat ready to eat can mean life or death. I have friends who told me they have stored canned meat for eight years and counting and it’s still good.
If you watch for good deals and sales in the stores, use coupons and augment your stores from growing, local food, and even eating your weeds, you can have a wonderful food storage that will sustain you and your family through most any crisis.