Food Pantry Insurance
This article will pertain to the importance of stock piling up on food; what basic foods to have on hand and how to store the food properly.
When it comes to stocking food, consider short term storage and long term storage. Short term storage food items consist of the everyday food that you and your family eat. For short term storage, make sure you have at least three weeks of food on hand at a minimum. Keep in mind the number of people you have to provide food for and multiply the number of servings per person for one day to determine the adequate needs of short term food storage.
Once you have obtained an adequate supply of food for the short term (similar to having an emergency fund of cash on hand if the banks had a bank holiday) you can then build up and ex-tend your short term food supply to two or three months, whatever makes you feel comfortable.
Items for Your Food Supply Pantry:
• Store non-perishable food. Select food that require no refrigeration, preparing or cooking and little or no water. If you have backup electrical power and or a root cellar, consider stocking up on meats, cereal and bread.
• Stock ready to meat canned meats such as chicken, tuna, spam.
• Canned vegetables.
• Rice
• Beans
• Sugar
• Wheat
• High protein food such as peanut butter, nuts.
• Granola bars, trail mix,
• Saltine crackers.
• Comfort food such as cookies, hard candy.
• Coffee and tea bags.
• Staples such as salt, pepper and favorite spices of your choosing.
As you start to build up your food supply, it’s important to consider shelf-life and ease of preparation.
Have a system in place to rotate your non-perishable foods and supplements before each one expire. While shopping, always look at the expiration date and make sure the product you are going to purchase does not expire within three months from your purchase date, at a minimum. Many items, such as canned food soups have an expiration date of between 1 – 3 years. If stored in a dry, cool place, you can store them even longer.
It is important to make sure that the food you store in your panty are items that can be made with little effort. In a time of crisis, you most likely will not have the luxury to bake special items and make gourmet dinners. Canned soups, meats, vegetables are about the simplest. All you need is a fire and a pot to cook.
For long term storage to bulk of your food supply, consider purchasing ready-made food meals that are packaged in mylar pouches and encased in a variety of durable plastic sized containers. Food kits come in a variety of serving sizes for one person to a family of four ranging for a 72 hour kit supply to multiple years.
When it comes storing food, make it a family activity. There is no better time to teach on the importance of preparing for an emergency and that storing food is insurance during a time of survival and provides a true sense of self reliance.
