The news is filled with photos of starving people, especially children. How do I protect my children from hunger? A one year supply of basic shelf-stable foods, such as wheat, rice, beans, pasta and oats, stashed away in your own home may just protect your family from hunger when disaster strikes.
You purchase health insurance, life insurance, and car insurance. Perhaps it is time to invest in hunger insurance. Food stored in your home can protect you from hunger during personal economic challenges, short-term price increases, food shortages, as well as other crises.
Food storage can reduce your monthly food bill, prepare you to thrive during challenging times and give you a wonderful sense of security. It is possible to purchase a one year supply of staples for less than you might think. Wheat, rice, beans, sugar, oats, and pasta can all last 25-30 years when packaged for long-term storage and stored appropriately. Read our post 8 Food Storage Enemies and How to Slay Them to learn how to optimize the shelf-life of your stored foods.
Food Storage is Important to Children
Children feel loved and secure when they help parents build family food stores. In our family, everyone helps. We work together as a team for a few important reasons:
- We are teaching our children and grandchildren to live a provident lifestyle.
- We instill confidence that regardless of the challenges we face, our family will ride out the adventure. Stories of earthquakes, severe weather, war, etc. frighten children. When our children hear a frightening story on the news we frequently hear a response, “Sad for those people, but we’ll be fine because we have our food storage.” There is more to it than that, but it puts their little minds at ease because food storage is concrete. They can see it, touch it and best of all, eat it.
- We build loving relationships through hard work and sacrifice. Valuable skills are learned as we grow and preserve our harvest.
Start by Stocking Up on the Foods You Eat Every Day
We recommend starting to build your food storage by stocking up on shelf-stable foods that your family enjoys. A 3-month supply of everyday foods can help get you through some of the challenges that life sends your way. Check out our post 3 Month Supply of Food: Amazing Peace of Mind for some great ideas to get you started.
We spend significantly less on groceries because we have food storage. When ketchup goes on sale, I buy a couple of cases so that for the next year I don’t have to buy ketchup at the regular price.
Recently we bought a few cases of brownie mix at 88 cents each. The regular price is $1.50 a box. Can you see how stocking up may require a little more cash up front, but it saves a fortune in the long run?
Another great benefit of a well-stocked pantry is the gas money you save by not having to make those spontaneous trips to the grocery store when you run out of an item. You have your own little grocery store at home. Fewer trips also mean fewer impulse purchases, another money saver.
Build a Supply of Basic Staples
Next, start to acquire some basic staples packaged for long term storage. Red beans, black beans, pinto beans, white rice, wheat, pasta, dried potatoes, dried onions or other long term storage items when properly packaged can store for 25-30 years. Dehydrated or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables are a great addition to your foods stores once you have the basics.
If you are wanting to learn how to build your long term food supply including what and how much per person, our post, Long Term Food Storage: Creative Solutions to Build a Critical Asset will help you understand the nuts and bolts of accomplishing the job.
Learn where to store all that food at Ingenious Places to Store Your Emergency Food Supply and let us show you some great ideas from some of our friends. You will find answers to many of your challenging questions about where to store your food.
Think about this. If you can spend $20 per person per month, you can easily accumulate a one year supply of basic necessities within two years for each member of your family. The goal for basic survival rations is about 300 pounds of grain and 60 pounds of legumes per person per year. Dried fruits and vegetables are a wonderful addition to these basics.
You can purchase these items online or at a local emergency preparedness store. I’ve noticed that several grocery stores, including Wal-Mart, have started carrying some longer term storage items in #10 cans.
It is always best to rotate your staples, but it is not necessary. You can store a one-year supply of basic life-sustaining foods under a twin size bed. Think about it. That is hunger insurance for the child that sleeps in that bed until after they are in college. What a fantastic investment!
Hunger Insurance – A Policy You Should Never Let Lapse
Occasionally, you may have an insurance policy that you allow the coverage to lapse due to financial restraints. Hunger insurance is the one policy you can eat when financial woes knock at your door. A well-stocked pantry can help lessen the impact of many of lives little emergencies.
Develop a plan to build a family food store which will take care of your own needs with a little extra to share with those in need. If you hate Lima beans, don’t store them. Store what you eat, eat what you store!
Try experimenting with some basics. You may be surprised by how tasty they can be. Take small consistent steps and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
