Why Store Food?

With the shakiness of the economy and the beginning of a new year, now is a good time to discuss why it's important to store food. Some of us have heard a lot about storing food. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have heard church leaders speak about storing food for many years. Having a supply of food on hand makes a lot of sense. Here are a few practical reasons I have found to store food:

• Emergency Preparedness - having a supply of food on hand in case of an emergency is a good idea. Natural Disasters, large or small can prevent us from being able to go to the grocery store or for the grocery stores to replenish their supply of food. It's a good idea to have some food on hand to prepare for these occurances.
• Less Trips to the Grocery Sore - When you have food and other supplies on hand, you don't need to make as many trips to the grocery store. It's true that the more trips you make to the grocery store, the more money you spend.
• Shop Sales - You can save a lot of money if you buy items you use in bulk and when they go on sale. By doing this, you can rotate supplies from your own store when the items are not on sale. In doing this, you never have to buy things at full price.
• Health Benefits - We've found that by storing food, we actually have eaten healthier. I guess the main reason is because we've tried to adapt our diets according to the food that stores well, which for the most part is healthy.

What are some more reasons that you can think of to store food?
This is a quote from our church leaders on food storage:
"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to “prepare every needful thing” (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we can care for ourselves and our neighbors...
"...Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve."
—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, Feb. 2007, 1 To learn more about storing food, visit http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,1706-1,00.html. This site give a lot of great ideas about how to get started with your home storage.