Some scoff at the idea of storing large amounts of food, but really, having just a little extra is always a good idea. I remember once as a younger girl, we had a huge blizzard. The roads were closed for several days. The grocery stores were an amazing sight to me. Empty shelves everywhere. In just a few days, those well stocked shelves were completely empty. No milk, no bread. I remember it very vividly. Luckily, my mother has a basement full of food, so we weren't too affected, aside from the convenience factor. But how many people weren't so prepared?
I realize winter blizzards aren't a concern for everyone, but there are plenty of other natural disasters to pick from. How can you know if you are really prepared? Something kind of fun to do is to take the week-long challenge. To do it, you pretend that you cannot get to the grocery store, or that there is nothing there. Look in your pantry and feed your family from there for a week. No preparing before hand. Starting right now, could you do it? Would it be absolutely miserable?
You make a very good point here. Most people run to the store when there is a storm coming. When my husband was in a work related accident and we had no money coming in, we lived off our pantry. We had a garden and canned all our food for five years and had plenty of food to live on for that period.
ReplyDeleteIf it's just me, I could go months, my DH wants MEAT if he's home. But then, it's usually just me.
ReplyDeleteI posted about that on another blog. To a stranger or to someone who doesn't cook, my style of shopping may seem odd. Or, they may look at my fridge and think there is nothing to eat. I don't buy prepared, packaged food, nothing processed. However, my freezer, pantry and garden are stocked with dozens and dozens of meals, you just have to use your brain to put them together. And, i guess, you have to enjoy cooking.
ReplyDeleteWe'd get along-we've got dairy goats and hens, but we have no pantry and very little cabinet space in the kitchen. It might not be what we'd CHOOSE to eat, but we wouldn't starve. It's on my list for when we're able to move though-adding to our stockpile.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of people buying up all the bread in the store when there was a snow storm has always intrigued me. Don't they have flour and yeast at home? Don't they have freezers filled with loaves of bread? Do people really live so day to day?
ReplyDeleteI know I'm different from the mainstream, but it always catches me off guard to see the contrast so starkly.