Prepare for a Natural Disaster or Emergency with Food Storage

Mary June — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:39:55 +0000

Why Save Food?

Today, especially in these tough economic times, it is common for people to put aside some money in case of an emergency. Why then, do we not save food as well? It makes sense to save money because we believe that money will buy us everything we need. What are we to do when we have the money but there is no food for us to buy? This is why I propose everybody should begin to prepare a food storage.

Tambora 1915

In 1815 Mount Tambora, a large volcano in Indonesia erupted. It was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history; it left more than 92,000 dead. The ash and debris went into the atmosphere causing an overall cooling of the earth. Temperatures were lowered as much as 3°C. The change in temperature created “The Year Without a Summer.”

In 1816, the temperature of the earth changed the growing seasons making it nearly impossible for anybody to grow crops. This caused a yearlong famine that made it difficult for people to find food. Many people ended up moving to different places because their crops weren’t growing because of the all year frosts. Had these people had a food storage, they would have been able to go that year without their crops. They also would have been able to provide food for the other people in their area. Food storage will be there when money can no longer buy what is needed.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park has a volcano that could erupt at any time. If this volcano were to erupt, it would be disastrous in North America and could affect the entire earth. The effects of the Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere might have the same effect that the eruption of Mount Tambora had in 1815. If this were to happen, it would be essential to have a food storage. Those who have prepared for this event might have food storage saved that they could use to help themselves as well as the people in their community to survive another year of little crop success. Adequate food storage could save hundreds of people’s lives.

How do I start a food storage?

Where will your storage be?

People may read this article and wonder how exactly they are to come up with food storage. Should you take out a payday loan and run down to buy a couple of months supply of food? I would not recommend this. I propose taking a small amount of a monthly budget and dedicating that money towards food storage. Consider having a place to store the extra food.

Make a goal

Are you planning a one week, one month or one year supply? Next, if you have any kind of food that you have stored, make a list of everything in your food storage, when it expires, and what is still needed for the food storage goal that you are setting. There are lists online of items that belong in appropriate food storages. This can be extremely helpful to those who have never done anything involving food storage.

Saving money with the economy as it is might be a beneficial thing, but saving food would likely be more beneficial than that. When referring to things people need for survival, food is the most basic item listed. Although people may believe that they will always be able to buy food, that is often times not the case. This makes it crucial to have a food storage.