When Disaster Strikes...Are YOU Ready?

America is the land of plenty; a place of security and shelter for its citizens. Would we ever really need to use food storage here? This is a thought-provoking question. Research has shown that the average American household has less than a week’s supply of food on hand. This is also the case with the average American supermarket. Without being paranoid or panicked, there are many valid reasons to put extra food away. We are all somewhat vulnerable to events beyond our control. But most situations are probably closer to home: loss of power, unexpected or unplanned interruptions of life such as unemployment, loss of income due to illness or injury, or high medical bills due to an accident. Food storage is a form of insurance protecting your family from the unexpected.

The Red Cross suggests "...Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking, and little or no water. If you must heat food, pack a can of sterno. Select food items that are compact and lightweight...." in their Disaster Supply checklist on being prepared.

History has proven over and over again that food is the beginning solution to almost every major problem, particularly those involving independence, freedom, security, and yes, even survival.

Whether you agree with the following reasons that people are putting away supplies of food or not, food always has been, is now, and forever will be, the greatest dependency we have, as well as the most comforting source of safety and security for every human being on our planet.

Here are some of the reasons people are storing food:

1. Runaway Inflation. One in six Americans presently worry about getting food daily. Runaway inflation in Germany and Argentina; when they followed the same inflationary path that the United States is presently on, the price of a loaf of bread doubled daily until it cost billions of that country’s currency units.
2. Global Warming. Whether real or fabricated the concept of "Global Warming" will likely be used to control fertilization of crops, taxation of farmers, and control how much and what foods we can buy. Legislation is being proposed that would prevent people from gardening and mandate what farmers could grow and how they’d go about growing it. To plant gardens for hard times is good council if you can, but the majority of our population has no place or time to plant them.
3. Food Quality. Imported food from countries with no safety standards for insecticides, fertilizers, bacterial and chemical contamination have entered our country’s food supply and have proven to be very dangerous. eFoodsDirect sources ingredients from growers who follow Good Agricultural Practices and are GAP Certified. This means that they are audited frequently to ensure that they do not use harmful insecticides, pesticides or fertilizers during cultivation. Furthermore, GAP certification ensures proper controls over the quality of water used for irrigation, animal access to crops and proper disposal of any raw waste, equipment sanitation, sanitary facilities for workers, transportation.
4. Emergency Preparedness. Having an emergency food supply near your “back door” is simply the smart thing to do. No one knows when a natural disaster (earthquake, fire, or flood) may strike and access to your local food store may not be an option.
5. Job Loss. The emotional impact of job loss and illness can be significantly reduced when people have a strong savings account of food.
6. Storms and Weather.  Catastrophic events, as we have seen, could make food impossible to transport, destroy crops, and isolate people from supplies. Serious American crop failures are creating shortages of food to be processed into supplies for people to store, even though you may not have seen these shortages yet in the grocery stores.
7. Help Others. A food supply can be used to help your neighbor, family members, or anyone in need.

There are seven common mistakes people make when storing food. They are:

1>   Not enough variety in their food storage

2>   Staples: Store dehydrated and/or freeze dried foods as well as home canned and “store bought” canned goods. Make sure you add cooking oil, shortening, baking powder, soda, yeast, and powdered eggs. You can’t cook even the most basic recipes without these items.

3>   Vitamins: A good quality multi-vitamin and vitamin C are the most vital. Others might be added as your budget permits.

4>   Quick & Easy Foods: Quick and easy foods help you through times when you are psychologically or physically unable to prepare your basic storage items. “No cook” foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation.

5>   Balance: It’s important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy several items, rather than a large quantity of one item.

6>   Containers: Store your food in rodent proof containers. Do not leave it in bags.

7>   Eat what you store: Do not buy foods that you would only use if you had to.

In Old Testament times, the Egyptian pharaoh was warned in a dream to prepare for seven years of famine by storing food during seven years of plenty. Throughout history people have stored food for the winter when there would be few sources of sustenance. With today's advances in technology and worldwide shipping, we enjoy a great year-round variety of food from the grocery store.

It's easy to forget that we are not immune from personal times of hardship, when a supply of food stored for a time of difficulty is needed. Such preparations can completely change how we get through the hardship. The time to choose greater peace of mind in an emergency is BEFORE it happens by making preparations. Gathering a supply of food in your "time of plenty" is an important investment