- For times of financial difficulty – You never know when you might lose a job or be laid off indefinitely. In times like this, every penny counts. This is a time when you'd be glad that you prepared a food supply in advance. It would provide some financial relief and help you manage your budget.
- For variety, diversification, convenience – Having a variety of food choices at home is like having your own grocery store. The more food and variety you have stored, the more choices you have. This also helps you with meal planning. However, only buy what you eat and eat what you store. This would lessen eventual waste. Moreover, regularly evaluate what you have and be sure that you're consuming your stockpile. A rule of thumb is "first in, first out" – the first items you bought should be consumed first, then replaced with new items.
- For a health emergency – Whether you live on your own or with your family, having an inventory of food would be useful when you encounter a health emergency, which could also cause financial difficulty. Having a food inventory would save you from making trips to the grocery store when you are sick or in recovery, or being burdened with the financial strain of groceries.
- For avoiding stress – Having an inventory of food could save you from stress during emergency situations. You wouldn't have to worry about running out of food, which is one less thing to be concerned about during these scenarios.
- For severe weather and power outage – There may be days when you couldn’t go out of your house for a few days because of a major snow and ice storm or a power outage. During these times, you'd be glad that you stockpiled food in advance.
- To hedge against inflation – Storing food could help you save money, especially because food prices often go up. One helpful tip is to wait for things to go on sale.
- For other people – You may be able to feed other people in times of need. Having excess beyond your own needs may be an asset during worst-case scenarios.
Foods you need in your food storage
There are certain types of food that are ideal for food storage. Here are some of them:
Freeze-dried foods
Freeze-dried foods are great survival foods because they retain more nutrients than other choices. At the same time, they are easy to store and stow away. Freeze-dried foods also retain less moisture than dehydrated foods. They can last for more than 20 years. (Related: Food storage tips: Considerations for making the most out of your food prepping budget.)
Dehydrated foods
Like freeze-dried foods, dehydrated foods take up only a small space in your storage. They also contain nutrients, but not as much as freeze-dried foods. The process of dehydrating foods is also easy and enables you to customize your food options.
Canned foods
Canned foods contain the most nutrients. However, canned foods tend to be heavy and take more space to store.
Smoked and cured meat
Smoking meat is a practice often used by native cultures. This process uses low heat and ample amounts of smoke to preserve thinly sliced meat.
There are many ways to store food in your pantry for short- or long-term emergencies. Learn more at EmergencyFood.news.
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