You need to be healthy and strong during an emergency, and food is one of the ways to achieve that. However, during times of uncertainty, it can be difficult to obtain food from traditional sources, such as the supermarket. But if you have a store of food on hand, you can ride out nearly any emergency while staying fed.

Consider your food storage to be a form of insurance; it’s there for when times get tough. Delivery trucks may have a hard time getting to your local grocery store due to disasters or even a worker’s strike. But if you have an emergency food storage, you will have food to rely on until things get back to normal. Likewise, a power outage can make it hard to cook the food in your pantry. Having freeze-dried food stored away will still allow you to eat a good, home-cooked meal – even without power. You may even find yourself without a job, but if you’ve been building up your emergency food storage, you can still feed your family with delicious, healthy meals until you can get back on your feet.

Not only can your storage save you in the event of a disaster, but it can also save you money. Your food can last for years, meaning as the standard cost of food at the grocery store goes up, your cost of food in storage stays low-priced. When there is a shortage on eggs due to the bird flu, you can open up a can of dehydrated eggs and still enjoy your famous omelets for breakfast.

Having extra food on hand is not only great for disasters, but every day cooking as well! Out of sugar or flour? Before you run to the store, take a trip to your food storage and start using the ingredients you have stored. After all, you’ll want to make sure you rotate some of your food storage, anyway, and everyday cooking is a smart way to do so.

The frequency you rotate the food in your emergency storage depends on the type of food it is. If you’re keeping food bought at a grocery store, it more than likely has a short shelf life and therefore needs to be rotated fairly often. MREs have a fairly long shelf life, but will also benefit from being rotated every five or so years. Pre-made food pouches, cans, and our SuperPails have longer shelf life – up to 25 years or more! Just make sure you keep a record of all the food you have so you know when it’s time to rotate.