Food Storage - How long could you avoid the grocery store?

The topic came up at work last week and I was again reminded of how ill prepared we are for any unplanned for event.

How long could you go before needed to head to the grocery store?

Most at work said they go multiple times per week just to pick up their supplies needed for meals.

What are some of the reasons one might need to curtail their trips?

• Weather related
• Loss of job
• Sickness or broken bones
• Transportation outages either yourself or those who bring shipments to the store
• Rioting - we have seen that this immediately stops shopping and brings looting
• Major bills or expenses that make financial adjustments beneficial

Or, what if you are looking to save time, save money, or improve efficiency?

So again, the question: How long could YOU go?

My goal in the past was to have no less than a six month supply of necessary food in the house.  Of course this does not take into consideration the desire for fresh fruits and vegetables or bread but if necessary I had canned and frozen foods to fill in the gaps.

Beyond the crisis planning I found that the best reason to have a food storage program was to save money.  My bill was literally cut in half by shopping the sales and buying bulk of the items I frequently used.  Yes, I have posted in the past on the subject but there are basic subjects that are worth a regular reminder.  My freezer was worth almost $5,000 because of the beef that was put in every fall although the cost was less than $1,000.  Pretty good return on investment wouldn't you say?

I remember my Aunt Isabel's home.  Three freezers, a canned goods storage area in the garage, and a pantry off the kitchen.  Yes, there were some draw backs and family jokes because she often kept things that long ago should have been used or tossed but we all can improve our management skills.  I used to get frustrated with my mom because her freezer was not organized.  Being the OCD that I am I would have to pull everything out and put the meat with the meat, bread with bread, etc.  She would just shake her head but had long ago learned that I could not be relaxed until it was finished.

The best thing about developing a food storage program is that you can customize it to your own family.  There are many right ways to do it.  And, yes, a few wrong ways for one does not want their best intentions to turn into an opportunity for waste.  As you have seen in previous posts my #1 item is toilet paper: who likes to run out of that?  The one thing I have found that didn't work well for food storage was Sunny D.  I once bought a case thinking it would last for a couple of months only to find that an unmentioned named child had drank the entire case in less than a week.  Who could do that?

The food storage section gives a number of other posts on the subject of food storage and the link on the right has valuable information for those who want to grow in a systematic way.