Food Info
Questions and Answers
These are some of the most common questions we hear from people considering food storage.
Question. We've got some of that dehydrated stuff we bought about 15 years ago. It's probably no good. Should we give it away to a "needy" program or just throw it away?
Answer. Probably neither one. First replace it. Much of it is probably more than "passed its prime." But if you have the space, keep it. When you have to use your emergency food, open the old stuff first. If it's no good, you can always throw it away then. If it's good, use it or share it with the people we all will be feeding who weren't wise enough to prepare.
Question. My parents had a whole bunch of food stored for the last 20 years and never used it. Dad probably spent $2000. Did he end up wasting his money? Is it possible to waste money storing food?
Answer. It's all in how you look at it. Your dad would probably consider that $8.33 a month for the ultimate life insurance was a pretty prudent investment.
Question. We opened some food we bought a couple years ago in the Y2K rush. It was terrible, virtually unusable. We bought from an organization that had the cheapest prices. How could we avoid bad food?
Answer. Realize that with any product, expected value must be paid for reasonably. Be more skeptical of low prices than of high ones. Remember the old council "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is." When prices are particular low or high there's always a reason. Ask why.
Question. We've stored food for a long time and haven't needed it yet. Why should we store more?
Answer. Great, just like with health insurance, the best thing I could wish anyone is that they would never have to use their emergency food insurance.
Question. A common quotation is "If you're hungry enough, you'll eat anything." Is this true?
Answer. This quotation is usually repeated by someone who is not hungry. If you're hungry enough that you're willing to eat anything, your health is already in danger. So much of our health is affected by emotions that the majority of people, particularly children, are not able to stay healthy on food they dislike or are not accustomed to. (Our country's aid programs have proven time and time again that if you try to feed starving people whose diet consists of rice and raw fish by sending them boat loads of wheat and beef it doesn't work. The people continue to starve, the wheat is dumped in the ocean and the beef gets fed to the Canine Corps.)
Question. I have plenty of money. Will I always be able to buy what I need?
Answer. If food is not available, what value will cash or gold have to a person who has life itself (food) in his possession? What value does money have if it is unable to buy food?
Interesting note: The capacity to get enough or more than enough food has always been the ultimate and final measure of wealth. In hard times, food will establish the value of gold.