I don't have room for Long Term Food Storage... or, do I?!

Earthquake, tornado, pandemic, hurricane, tsunami, terrorist attack - oh my!
When I first decided to start putting together an emergency supply of food, I did a little research and found that most people suggest to work up to having a year's worth.  YIKES!  Just thinking about having a month, a three-month, let alone a year's supply of food stocked up on the shelves conjured images of canned food taking over my kitchen cabinets and spilling out onto the counters... or images of spending countless hours preserving foods in jars, sticky everywhere (preserving food is actually really fun, but I shutter to think about making enough to feed our family for 3 months straight, or even buying and making space for that many glass jars).  I don't really buy canned food because of the studies done on the harmful effects that BPA has on your body, and most canned food can liners contain BPA.  After doing more research on the subject of long term food storage and emergency food supply, I came to realize that it doesn't have to be canned or preserved jar foods, and it doesn't have to be in my kitchen AT ALL!  I could store dehydrated and freeze-dried food in the garage, under my bed and even in the coat closet!

Some of the most compact food solutions we found are made by Wise brand in a square-shaped bucket so they are more efficient with space than a round one, and are easily stacked in the coat closet, with plenty of room left for our coats. Each freeze-dried or dehydrated meal is individually packaged and safely stored within the bucket. They are also more compact than stacks and stacks of #10 cans like the Thrive brand (which we also own, and are good but I like the efficient storage Wise brand provides). So, the Wise food buckets are the ones we decided to sell in our store.

Having a stockpile of food is a really good idea so that you wont be left with bare shelves and an empty refrigerator if disaster were to strike, or if you get laid off from work and you have to change your budget drastically and suddenly. A "run on the stores" is another concern, wiping the store clean due to looters or genuine buyers of the food during a crisis.

In addition to our long shelf life food supply, we have a garden and just bought a greenhouse this summer so we can try our hand at growing over the winter! So far, we have 6 months of "Long Term Food Storage" food stored up; I'm working towards a years worth as our budget allows.

p.s. These food packets don't have to be reserved for an emergency, they are GREAT for busy moms or bachelors needing a quick dinner solution!  Just pour the package contents into a pan, add water, stir and cook... in about 12 minutes, dinner is ready on the table!  Or, if you have a last-minute potluck to attend!