Six Reasons to Keep Food Storage

There are many reasons to have and maintain a home food storage system. Emergency preparedness experts may suggest a food storage for anywhere from 72 hours to 1 or more years. The thought of having a home food storage system may be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some excellent reasons to have a home food storage system.

#1 Reason to Have Food Storage: A Well Stocked Pantry

Any good cook will tell you a well stocked pantry is the key to delicious and spontaneous cooking. Valuable time is saved when you don't have to run to the grocery store every few days to pick up just one or two items. Keeping staples on hand will also facilitate quick, healthy meal preparation and. Just a few dry items you could store as part of your well stocked pantry include: all-purpose flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, confectioners sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, yeast (store in freezer for longer shelf life), cornstarch, unsweetened cocoa, semi or bitter sweet chocolate, biscuit mix, minute tapioca, shortening, oatmeal, cereal, crackers, breadcrumbs, pasta, rice, Brown sugar, barley, dried beans, split peas and onion soup mix.

A well-stocked pantry is the first step to creating a food storage system.

#2 Reason to Have Food Storage: Take Advantage of Sales

Storing certain foods allows you to take advantage of sales and low prices from bulk buying. If you have certain foods you use over and over, watch for sales and stock up. Even if you spend a little more up front, because you are buying 10 times as much as you need, you will save money over the long run.

#3 Reason to Have Food Storage: Take Advantage of Short Term Surplus

Another reason to keep food storage is to take advantage of short term surpluses, like during harvest time. If you live near produce growers you may have the opportunity to buy produce at a discount or pick it yourself for a big savings. In some areas of California's Central Valley, tomato growers actually give away thousands of pounds of tomatoes to anyone who will come and pick them up. Home canning is a great way to preserve produce for later use. Enjoy summer raspberries in December and vine ripened tomatoes in March by preserving these foods and adding them to your food storage.

#4 Reason to Have Food Storage: Prepare for Financial Hardship

It's not easy to think about, but each person needs to consider what they would do in case of job loss or other financial hardship. If you have food stored when hardship hits, you will have one less thing to worry about and you can fall back on your stored food to save money.

#5 Reason to Have Food Storage: Prepare for Natural Disaster

If the natural disasters of recent years have taught us anything, it's that we can't always count on other people to help when the infrastructure has failed. It doesn't take a "Hurricane Katrina," however, to appreciate food storage in the time of a natural disaster. A blizzard, wind storm or power outage may make it temporarily difficult to get to a store to purchase food. Even if you do get to a store, there is no guarantee that it will be open or that there will even be the kind of food there that you need.

#6 Reason to Have Food Storage: Alleviate Fear and Concern

When you are prepared, fear and worry are lessened and you will feel more confident in your ability to be self-sufficient.