Emergency food is something of great importance and everybody really should have some food stores… In the modern world it isn’t a question of if you will need to draw on your emergency food resources, but when. How many 7-plus magnitude earthquakes have you read/hear about lately? Earthquakes seem to be more powerful than they ever were. They are of greater and greater magnitude with more and more destruction and loss of life. And don’t for one second believe that those survivors involved with these catastrophes who were unprepared didn’t wish they had the means to access emergency food provisions. When I say emergency food, I also include water with that since the elixir of life is even more important than solid food for sustaining life. But, having emergency food isn’t unusual, it is not excessive worry, and it is not hoarding. And none of that would matter anyhow had you been in an emergency situation feeling extreme hunger.
One reason for saving emergency food is that food not only sustains us nutritionally, in the face of extreme hardship it can help keep some balance and normalize the situation. In the aftermath of an unexpected emergency if you are not cut off from a food source, your head and spirit can be at least be buoyed up and your energy to endure the crisis. Think about it– people just tend to be in a better mood and more emotionally balanced when they have food in their bellies. I know a few people who when they get hungry are rather grumpy! Multiply that by a factor of 10 or more if you are hungry and despairing in the aftermath of a disaster. The tears would come a lot more easily. On the other hand, with food, the situation becomes more manageable. There's something about being satiated and our appetites being fed that counts a lot in keeping our cool
Some think since our civilized society is so advanced that we could weather any kind of disaster without disruption. Ask the Hurricane Katrina survivors if that’s true or not. It’s more close to NOT when it comes to hoping that Big Brother (Uncle sam) is going to meet our every rescuing need. The government is woefully unable to fill such big shoes on such a wide scale. And we shouldn’t wait around expecting them to. Darwin had a few things right with his Theory of Evolution and Survival of the Fittest. In the case of having emergency food, you will be the “fittest” of a lot of people if you have it. There will be no regrets. Even if it only ever brought you peace of mind, emergency food would have done its job in my way of thinking.
You have the entire globe at your feet right now at this moment. Yes, times are hard, but you have access to more food right this moment than you could ever eat in a lifetime. How sad would it be if you didn’t at least begin to obtain emergency food that could sustain you for a few week’s time? I dare say your WalMart is full of food enough for everybody right now, but in event of a major societal disruption (human caused or natural) it wouldn’t matter. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah built his ark. He was seen as a kook, but this shouldn’t bother you as much as your will to live should carry you forward to life sustaining emergency food accumulation.
Your emergency food supply can be very, very simple. Start with a goal of a couple of weeks of emergency food. You can expand as resources allow. What's emergency food exactly? Emergency food may be nothing different from what you already eat on a daily basis. To make things simple it can be canned foods and items that require only easy preparation. You may even want to acquire some dehydrated and freeze dried emergency food selections. These two food choice types usually require only water and a heat source for reconstitution and they take very little effort and time to make ready for consumption. They also have the added benefit of storing for 5-plus years in many cases. A number of people decide to add freeze dried and dehydrated foods to their emergency food storage pantry because they might not want to maintain/rotate them. They use them as an insurance plan. Whatever emergency food you should decide to gather, the important thing is that you get a start, even if it is slow and steady. Don’t be embarrassed or think you are under-doing it if it is only a can or a package at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day!
A family usually budgets food as one of their main expenses. If you can store plenty of emergency food for both short term and the long term (one year), you can weather many of life’s storms. If you should come to be financially strapped, for instance a layoff, earnings loss due to physical illness that disables you for a time, etc., wouldn’t it make sense to get well prepared ahead of time having emergency food “insurance”? You pay for health insurance and life insurance, why not look at food by the same token? Emergency food can be a real lifeline in a time of significant need.
