Reasons Why We Store Food

[d_marsh]

Not new info for most of you, but a good reminder to inspect, rotate, use, stock up, etc.

How much food do you store? How long can you eat if the supply lines come crashing down?

Reasons Why We Store Food​

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ByKen J.Last Update12/05/2024

There are many reasons why we store food. Here’s a list of practical, sensible reasons to have your own food storage. Some reasons are quite obvious. I list a few other reasons that may seem fairly unlikely to some people, but I would take it seriously. It makes so much sense to store food. Unfortunately it seems that many people have hardly any food storage at all. A day or two, or three… But in today’s world of uncertainty, can you really ever have enough? Anyway, lets get to it.

Why Do We Store Food?​

What Are The Reasons for Storing Food?​

In no particular order of priority…

Convenience​

One of the most practical reasons why we store food is for convenience. Build up your own “mini mart” of sorts. Your own little grocery store stash. It sure is convenient to simply go to your pantry/closet/shelves and pick out what you might want for a meal. Seriously, that’s a great reason all by itself. It’s convenient. The more food storage, the more convenient (and more choices)!

Independence​

Food storage enables some self-reliance and a warm fuzzy feeling of independence. It just happens. That’s probably because of a subconscious assurance that you have plenty of extra. Anything that you do towards becoming more self-reliant will result in a feeling of more independence (not just food). It’s a good feeling! Food storage equals peace of mind.

Food Price Inflation​

Prices always go up over time. Sometimes rapidly and significantly! Buying foods now rather than later when it will cost even more – is another great reason why we store food. It is a good investment for the household. The more food that you buy now, the less you will pay in the long run when prices are higher.

The Systemic Risk of “Just-In-Time” Delivery​

JIT: Just In Time delivery. Some call it Just On Time. It’s pretty much how all distribution works these days. Basically there is zero extra inventory in stores (including grocery stores). If this is disrupted (for any number of reasons), there will be shortages. This is a major systemic risk.
Generally speaking, most grocery stores may run out of many or most food items within 3 days of missed regular deliveries – especially coupled with people panic. That should be motivation enough to store more food!
I have lots of articles here on this subject. Check out the Survival Kitchen category, and/or Search the site on Food Storage. There lots of ways to get started. One quick way is to start buying some pre-packaged long term kits like the Augason Farms 30-day supply, for example. Or their Lunch and Dinner kits. And Breakfast kits.
When purchasing through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you (Learn More).

[ Read: Food Delivery System Disaster Waiting To Happen ]

Severe Weather Events Disruption​

An interesting observation: People preemptively freak out right before a forecast major weather event (snow storm, hurricane, etc.). I have seen it many times. They flock to the grocery stores to clear out the shelves. Why? Because most don’t have more than a day of food at home! This is another reason why we store food…so you don’t have to be part of that crowd.
[ Read: 10-80-10 Rule of Human Behavior ]
Stranded at home from Severe Weather Impact. A major snowstorm, ice-storm, flooding, hurricane, (fill in the blank) can leave you stranded at home for a while. It may leave people isolated for days or even a week or more! Power and utilities are often damaged while roadways and distribution is affected (availability of food & supplies). Severe weather is one of the common reasons for storing food — for preparedness.
[ Read: Best Emergency Survival Food Companies (Short List) ]

• Augason Farms
• ReadyWise
• Peak Refuel
• Mountain House
• Legacy

Sick, Injured, Recovering at Home​

Unable To Leave Home: You might become sick. Maybe a health issue or injury has you home-bound for a while. You will be glad that you have at least a minimal food storage and one less thing to worry about!

Epidemic or Pandemic​

Just look what happened with Covid. Shortages! First the TP, then more and more foods from supply chain disruptions. When people notice a shortage of something, they will buy more of that ‘something’ the second they see it on the shelf. It’s a natural reaction. Quickly, the supply chains are disrupted. Basically, all of our food comes from a complicated supply chain. A pandemic will directly and negatively affect that.
[ Read: When The Trucks Stop, It’s Over ]

Crop Failures Caused By Weather Patterns​

There are times when major weather patterns shift to such an extent to cause regional and widespread damage. Extremes. Drought. Too much rain. Flooding. This will affect price and availability.

Personal Budget Disruption​

Job loss. It’s not unheard of to lose one’s job. Expected or unexpected. With no more paycheck, if you’ve built up a food storage supply it will be one less expense to deal with until you get back on your feet.

Squeezed Budget: It happens. For whatever of the many possible reasons, if you are suddenly faced with reduced income (maybe you retire, a pay cut, your spouse loses a job) – having a food storage supply in the house will be a relief.
A reader here said, “I learned from experience! We had a financial crisis. It taught me…if I hadn’t had a deep pantry we wouldn’t have eaten.”
[ Read: 8 Lessons Learned From The Great Depression Era ]

Hunger Is A Motivator​

A commenter here on the blog once said, “I have been hungry before. It was not a good feeling. I still remember that feeling today.” ” I try to make sure that never happens to me again. ever… “
As a society, we are not that many missed meals away from anarchy and chaos. Though it may seem quite improbable, a SHTF situation could quickly result in people going hungry and becoming desperate. Don’t let that be you. Build an inventory of food storage.
[ Read: 9 Missed Meals From Anarchy ]
[ Read: 98% Depend On 2% Who Are Farmers ]

Major Earthquake and Regional Disaster​

Earthquake: For those who live in earthquake country, do yourself a favor and build up emergency food storage. The “big one” is going to happen some day. You don’t know when. It could be tomorrow. Building and infrastructure damage could bring an entire region into shutdown. What you have will be all there is.
[ Read: Natural Hazards Leading To Natural Disasters ]

Civil Unrest – War Times​

The follow-on effects could be bad enough to limit movements and travel. The reasons why we store food are many, and this is just another one. It might seem unlikely to happen (due to normalcy bias), but we do live in very uncertain times. Prices go up as these uncertainties may pressure the markets and supply chains. What if there were to be a war right here? Unthinkable, right? On the other hand, it may be worth a thought… Yet another reason why we might choose to store food.

Societal Chaos​

Societal division percolating to a boil, leading to chaos. Mass protests, rioting, looting on a grand scale, perhaps caused by a trigger event that chain reacts into society. The resulting chaos more likely in urban areas and regions of high population density. Perhaps even widespread.
Trigger events could be nearly anything. There is so much tension and division. We even hear talk of the potential for ‘civil war’. Could it happen here again?
Food storage – it’s a good thing to have!

EMP or CME Event​

EMP: An electromagnetic pulse, either weaponized (EMP nuke) or a natural event (massive solar flare and CME, coronal mass ejection). These events could badly damage or destroy parts of (or all of) the electric power grid. Anything electronic. We could be sent back to the Stone Age, and most will not survive it. This is a worst case scenario, but worth mentioning.
[ Read: Solar SuperStorm 1859 ‘Carrington Event’ – In the Blink of an Eye ]

Food Storage Equals Personal Security​

A commenter on the blog said, “I went to observe my local super market 8 hours after the Hurricane had passed. There was definitely a lot of people panic buying. If there is a run on Food you do not want to be anywhere near the masses of people that’s for sure.”

Food Insurance​

Another commenter said, “You buy insurance, hoping you won’t need it. You buy food, and you know you will use it. Even if some of it gets wasted, the majority of it will be used at some point in time. It’s illogical not to have food insurance!”
These are just a few (of many) reasons why we store food. To have extra food storage on hand. It’s a security blanket for survival.

https://modernsurvivalblog.com/preps/15-reasons-why-you-need-food-storage/

 

[Weedygarden]

We never know what the future brings. We can be living in the lap of luxury now, and in a year be crawling on the streets, looking for a place to stay warm and a morsel to eat. There are many illustrations of life where people went from being well fed to starving.

 

[Amish Heart]

Storing food is a normal part of our lifestyle. And growing food and growing animals for food.
Good basic article, d Marsh. I'm not a huge fan of those buckets, tho, but they are better than nothing. How much food do you store? Your family increased in size now.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I think storing food is just plain smart, at least a few weeks worth. We're always one good storm away from being snowed in for a couple weeks or more. We keep probably about a years worth of food stocked up. That's not counting the beef, hogs, chickens and wild game on our property.
That reminds me, I better pick up some more Spam. I'm down to only 6 cans on the shelf.

 

[Weedygarden]

I'm not a huge fan of those buckets, tho, but they are better than nothing.

I'm with you about those buckets. They are better than nothing, but I have a preference for simple ingredients, beans, rice, wheat, sugar, salt, butter (in the freezer), spices, canned meats, dehydrated and freeze dried fruits and veggies. I understand people buying the buckets of food. My first few food storage items were rice, beans, and wheat. It is easy to buy a 25 pound bag of something each payday for me, once a month, put it into a bucket, and on I go. Imagine 300 pounds of food a year for 10 years = 3,000 pounds of basic food. And then build out around that with seasonings, and things that make eating better.

We're always one good storm away from being snowed in for a couple weeks or more.

Imagine living in the country (I think you do) and seriously not being able to leave home for days, weeks, months. It was the way life was for my grandparents when my parents were growing up. Grandparents bought food in bulk--beans, potatoes (couldn't grow them in their clay soil), wheat, etc.

 

[UserNameTaken]

The food buckets, IMHO, are like pre-made first aid kits. Better than nothing.

We (like probably most everyone here) work on a layered system. We keep about 1-3 weeks of fresh food. I do most of the shopping, about once every ten days.

We have about two months food in three freezers, usually about 2/3-3/4 full. (In case we lose one.) And we have 6-8 months of mid-term canned, dried and pasta. Plus the old "rice and beans" would stretch out a few more months.

Some of the mid term food is not stuff we regularly eat - but food that stores well for longer periods. As it ages out we move it to "decoy food" and eventually throw it out, having restocked. This includes stuff like tuna, vienna sausage, canned chicken, high salt canned food, etc.

I understand the "store what you eat" rule, but I eat fresh fish and fowl, lettuce, fruit and ice cream. Fresh, healthy food doesn't store well, but Ditty-More Beef Stew with 6,000 mg of salt, is forever...

Our long term food is about two months freeze dried Mountain House or #10 cans. I consider one "4 portion" packet to be one meal for one, on short rations. The calorie count is very low with most FD.

Finally... we keep about 30 days emergency food in a steamer trunk, ready to go at all times. We can throw it out a window if the house is on fire, along with our other essential gear. I have experience with that. As a kid when our condo burned down. I was literally throwing my guns and camping gear off the second story porch to my mom and some samaritans as the apt was on fire, then I jumped myself.

All in all I try to keep us at the one year point to avoid waste. This is based on full rations. In a bad long term event if we went on a diet we might double it.

Of concern is a slow burn event where you are slowly depleated over 2-3 years to scratching out a daily existance, like about half the planet.

 

[Pearl]

I easily have six months of food stored! We can live without leaving for six months! Comfort foods and foods we want I keep a couple of weeks worth. In case of Texas ice storms or tornadoes! In a true government take over, "you will own nothing and be happier" situation, SHTF, this is not your property leave or die....I feel I am able to survive on the run!

 

[Mountain trapper]

I'm with you about those buckets. They are better than nothing, but I have a preference for simple ingredients, beans, rice, wheat, sugar, salt, butter (in the freezer), spices, canned meats, dehydrated and freeze dried fruits and veggies. I understand people buying the buckets of food. My first few food storage items were rice, beans, and wheat. It is easy to buy a 25 pound bag of something each payday for me, once a month, put it into a bucket, and on I go. Imagine 300 pounds of food a year for 10 years = 3,000 pounds of basic food. And then build out around that with seasonings, and things that make eating better.


Imagine living in the country (I think you do) and seriously not being able to leave home for days, weeks, months. It was the way life was for my grandparents when my parents were growing up. Grandparents bought food in bulk--beans, potatoes (couldn't grow them in their clay soil), wheat, etc.

We normally get snowed in up here for anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks a winter. Then during spring we have washouts and mud that keeps us from going anywhere until it dries out. I have a total of about 3 miles of road to plow, which at times is a full time job. That's from the house to the county road, to the pump house and out to where we feed the stock.
Besides food for us we need to stock up on livestock feed, 6 months of fuel, oil and parts for all of our equipment. Winter time is always a challenge.

 

[Amish Heart]

Agree with you there. Winter is a pain in the butt

 

[Supervisor42]

Not new info for most of you, but a good reminder to inspect, rotate, use, stock up, etc.

How much food do you store? How long can you eat if the supply lines come crashing down?

I am the chief in charge of rotation here.
Ate a box of Kraft Shells & Cheese last week.
Expire date: May 2024. Still delicious!
Replaced it with 2 new boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese just 2 days later.
We usually keep 3-months+ of food on hand.
I posted in another thread about how I 'live-tested' my 4-day ration of homemade beanie-weenies.
Also restocked those ingredients with new cans.
We don't just 'talk the talk'.
(No, we don't have a 50-pound bag of rice) Try 'rotating' those.

 

[RJ2019]

I like the stuff I can rotate through slower, like beans and popcorn and yes, rice. A few years back I stocked a LOT of canned food that I never ate through and I had some leakage and bulging cans. I recently went through all the canned stuff and inspected it, threw out what I needed to and am trying to eat it faster. I just don't go through that many cans of food. I'm going to pivot away from canned foods with future purchases and go with other stuff. The #10 cans I bought have all been g2g.

 

[Amish Heart]

I just rotated a flat of cannelini beans (canned) to the dehydrator because they were expiring.

 

[RJ2019]

I just rotated a flat of cannelini beans (canned) to the dehydrator because they were expiring.

Do canned then dehydrated beans cook faster than raw/dry?

 

[LadyLocust]

Because we eat.
So many (most? ) people don’t cook anymore. We eat from home about 98% of the time.
I do not enjoy grocery stores so avoid going any more frequently than absolutely necessary.

 

[Amish Heart]

Do canned then dehydrated beans cook faster than raw/dry?

Yep! They're called fast beans. Just add hot water because they were already cooked.

 

[Tim Horton]

Why do we store food.... And for that matter, tools, and other supplies..

Because I remember as a kid on the ranch, then with my own kids at home, and after retirement back on the family ranch being, for instance, winter storm bound for ..fill in the blank amount of time.. with or without power..

Everyone's situation, personal experience, capabilities, likes and preferences will be different, but that is your choice as what ever is easiest for you to work with is the thing for you to do..

 

[DrHenley]

We all depend on stored food to survive, it's just that some people let the supermarket store the food for them.

 

[Magpie]

We have a bit more of a reason to have prepped following the recent storm here. A port in the UK- Holyhead - was damaged, and was meant to reopen the 20th, but it's looking like after Christmas.There is a ton of stuff there waiting to be shipped to Ireland. There are two other ports, but all are fully booked up and lorries cant get on.
'Taoiseach' (tee-shock) is the equivalent of Prime Minister.

Highly unlikely' Holyhead will function before Christmas, says Taoiseach​

Updated / Monday, 16 Dec 2024 12:25

Damage during Storm Darragh has led to the closure of Holyhead port (Courtesy: Christopher Williams)
By Eleanor Burnhill

The Taoiseach has said the seriousness of the situation in Holyhead is becoming more apparent as the days go by, and it is "highly unlikely now that we will see Holyhead Port functioning in any real way this Christmas." The port has been closed since it was damaged during Storm Darragh earlier this month. Simon Harris said this was a serious concern to both people who had bought goods and gifts that they were hoping would arrive and also people who are trying to get home for the Christmas period.
He said Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State James Lawless would meet their Welsh counterparts and Irish Ferries and Stena Line this afternoon.
He also welcomed the decision taken by the Welsh government to relax rules on driving times for hauliers to help reduce the backlog of freight at the port. Mr Harris said every possibility was being looked at in terms of providing additional capacity.
"We've already made it very clear that we will put on extra shuttle buses and the likes, should we be able to get other ferry crossings to other ports. So there's a lot of work going on to make sure people can get home for Christmas and to make sure as many gifts as possible can get here in time for Christmas."

Separate incidents

In a statement this morning, Holyhead Port said that on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 December, "two separate berthing incidents occurred affecting the Terminal 3 berth used by Irish Ferries, resulting in part of the berth structure collapsing and rendering it unusable."
It said that give the scale of the damage, under water inspections needed to be carried out, which began on 10 December after Storm Darragh passed and this process is ongoing.
The Port added: "We understand that the closure of the port has had a significant impact on trade, passengers and port customers and we are aware of the disruption this has caused.

 

[Amish Heart]

We're supposed to have a union workers port strike in about a month. It was supposed to be during election/black Friday time period, but was rescheduled. I'm sure it'll muck things up here, too, for awhile.

 

[Weedygarden]

Replaced it with 2 new boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese just 2 days later.

I have read about people doing this. I think that one of our members, Grimm, did this when they lived in one place, before they moved. She may still be doing this. Eat one can of something, replace it with two cans of the same thing. It is one way to build up a stock pile.

Storing food is a normal part of our lifestyle. And growing food and growing animals for food.
Good basic article, d Marsh. I'm not a huge fan of those buckets, tho, but they are better than nothing. How much food do you store? Your family increased in size now.

Ever since this conversation, I have been thinking about this, the buckets of prepared foods that just need heated water or water and then heat. I think that they are better than nothing, but more than that, if there is an emergency situation of some sort, would probably be a good thing to have.

Even though I do eat some prepared foods, due to a history of migraines, I try to be aware of additives, chemicals, dyes, preservatives. That is what pushes me toward simple foods, no preservatives or chemicals added.

If this is what someone has selected for food storage, the buckets of prepared foods, they are way ahead of many people. I really see the value in them for some people. The meals are probably fairly complete, although I have never really looked at them.

For me and mine, we have to be aware of gluten in foods. If someone like my daughter was left only with food that has gluten in it, she would be so sick, constantly.

I've known other people with gluten allergies who were hospitalized for days, weeks, before the determination of the allergy. Gluten makes them sick with vomiting, diarrhea, horrible (maybe migraine) headaches, and exhaustion.

This is where beans and rice as a basic stored food are good for us. Cooking them and dehydrating them would be a really good thing to do now.

 

[Amish Heart]

I have a few "complete" buckets, different brands. But honestly...the breakfasts are usually oatmeal and orange tang like drinks. Maybe a dehydrated egg mix. Lunch and dinners are typically pasta mixes or rice mixes. You could do better in a grocery store, and repackaging what you buy. And adding some canned meat of your own. But these are good things for people who need the convenience, because at least it's something. And for people who do not know how to cook. Looking at someone's food storage that has just alot, alot of basic ingredients....flour, sugar, rice, beans, canned meat, canned veg, canned fruit can seem crazy to a person who does not know how to put a meal together. Our youngest daughter was a vegetarian for many years, is not now, though for health reasons. She likes to backpack. We would order her vegetarian meals from Backpackers Pantry (just add water) and she said that those were superior to others that she tried.