Food Storage - How Can I Afford It?

Food Storage – How can I afford it?

This is a question that many people struggle with.  A lot has to do with the manner in which you think of food storage.  Often, when people think of the extra money they would have to spend in order to get food storage, they weigh the cost against the likelihood of an emergency situation happening.  If you think of food storage in those terms, you are likely to never be able to accumulate much food storage.  On the other hand, I think of food storage as insurance.  Yes, insurance is very expensive and in most cases, you never have the occasion to collect a benefit. However, in those cases where something does happen, you are very glad that you had the insurance.  In the case of food storage, I have never been confronted with a catastrophe where I needed to survive on my food storage.  On the other hand, our family has gone through several periods of unemployment in which the food storage has come in very handy.

Think of your food storage as a Home Store.

1.   Store only the things your family eats on a regular basis.

2.   Rotate your storage by using and replenishing it on a regular basis

3.   Replenish your storage by purchasing food when it is on sale whenever possible

Build your home store on a budget not an emotion:

1. Decide on a budget you can spend each week or month to build and replenish your home store
2. Never let fear be your motivation for purchasing your food storage
3. Watch the ads for the best prices and use your budget to purchase in larger quantities
4. Join a plan such as the Shelf Reliance Q to gradually build your home store on a steady yet gradual basis.  Shelf Reliance has monthly specials that can be put into the Q, which will save you money  (To Learn more about the Shelf Reliance Q, please click the tab above)

Be Wise with your Home Store purchases:

1. Store what you eat, eat what you store
2. Label each item with the date of purchase
3. Organize your storage so that the oldest item gets used first
4. Store item properly to avoid spoilage – Cool, dark, dry space in proper containers
5. Keep the storage area clean to prevent pest infestation
6. Periodically re-evaluate your Home Store.  Make sure it is meeting the needs of your family and your lifestyle

Be determined:

1. Set a goal, stick with it, make it a way of life

My lifestyle today has changed significantly from that of my parents.  My mother, for the most part, processed her own food storage by freezing, bottling and drying her own garden produce.  She used basic staples to cook with.  Today, life is much faster passed.  It requires most mothers to work outside the home.  Prepared foods, boxed mixes and frozen meals have become a way of life.  Under these conditions, building and maintaining a useable food storage program is challenging.  My solution to this challenge is freeze-dried food.  It is nutritious, appealing, delicious, convenient and easy to prepare.  It is wonderful for food storage because it has a very long shelf life.  I purchase them through the Shelf Reliance Q.  Please click the tab above to learn more about the Q.  If you would like to set up your own Shelf Reliance Q, please visit my website at:

Food Storage at Home

I often long for the days of my childhood when life was simple.  At least it seemed that way.  I grew up on a farm.  Whether in the house or in the fields, my family and I all worked together. It seemed like Mom and Dad had a lot more time with us to teach us the important things in life.  I like to reminisce about those times at home.  Some of my favorite memories are of helping my Dad while he was repairing his machinery in an old granary which was filled with antiques and other very interesting junk.  Others are of sitting on our front porch visiting while watching the big golden sun go down behind the mountains in a beautiful orange and pink sunset.  Best of all are the memories of eating delicious fresh frozen corn and peas or bottled peaches and raspberries after we worked hard to prepare them.  

I grew up with the concept of food storage.  We had what my parents called a fruit room in the basement.  It was always stocked with shelves of bottled peaches, pears, apricots, raspberries, pickles, beats, jams and jellies.  Next to the fruit room stood a freezer with frozen corn, peas and meats that had been raised on our farm or purchased from a neighboring farmer.  We also kept potatoes and apples in a cool dark place in the basement.  We had a large shelf where we kept canned goods, honey and flour.  Everyday we enjoyed fresh milk and eggs thanks to our cows and chickens.  Needless to say, we certainly wouldn’t have gone hungry if the stores had closed. 

Our mother was a wonderful cook.  Among my favorites were her delicious breads, pies, cinnamon rolls and cookies.  She even made fresh butter from the cream that was skimmed from the milk our Jersey cows.  It’s a wonder that my siblings and I weren’t fatter than pigs!

Needless to say, life has changed for most of us.  We live in a fast paced world with lots of places to go and many people to see, or more likely text. Most of us don’t live on farms.  We depend upon our neighborhood grocery store for our food and most of us don’t have the time, knowledge, equipment or inclination to start from scratch to raise, prepare or store our own food.

Ask yourself the following questions when you are thinking of starting your own food storage plan. 

1.  What should I store?

2.  How can I afford to purchase extra food for food storage?

2.  Where will I keep my food storage?

3.  What equipment will I need to help me store and use my food storage?

4.  How can I educate myself so that I will be able to store and prepare the foods I have stored?

5.  What plan will I establish so that I can effectively rotate my food storage to prevent it from getting old?

During the next few days, I will try to help answer some of these questions.  Please come back and visit my blog.  In the meanwhile, please check out the tabs at the top of this blog.  They have important information.  Also, please visit my Shelf Reliance website at: 

 susansakurai.shelfreliance.com