There are many reasons to store food. It can save you money to stock up on food when it is on sale. It can provide for your family during a time of financial security. Another reason to store food is to prepare for a time when you may not be able to purchase food for a long period of time. If another epidemic were to strike, chances are that normal day-to-day activities would be shut down to prevent the spread of the illness. Normal day-to-day activities include grocery stores, jobs, school and church.
There are other factors, which may make it difficult to reach a grocery store or to have the grocery store be able to receive the shipment trucks on a regular basis. These could include natural disasters, such as severe earthquakes, flooding, or hurricanes in which the roads would become impassable. A severe fuel shortage may slow down the speed in which foods are shipped to stores. It will also likely drive up the cost of the food.
It is important to have food on hand so that you can cope with any of these emergency situations. If a year’s supply of food seems like overkill to you, then try to store between one and three months of food. It is best to store food that your family already eats, and that they enjoy. It is also important to have a definite plan. If you only purchase enough green beans to eat for a month, then your family will quickly become tired of green beans.
You may also want to make other plans for your family, so that they can continue their normal activities as much as possible. You will want to make sure that if you use oil heat that you keep your tanks fairly full. You may want to plan to have supplies on hand to keep your children entertained, and to be able to continue to school them at home while schools are shut down.