Don’t let the cost of preparing frighten you. There are many ways to accumulate storage on a budget. The following are a few and I will add more throughout the week this week so check back. Please add ways you are budgeting or saving money on purchases to build your own General Store.
As you shop purchase two cans instead of one. Watch the grocery store ads and purchase two or three of every canned food item on sale that you normally use even if it is not on your list for the week. On fruit weeks watch for fruit sales. If there are none take cash and place it in an envelope labeled fruit. Now when you see a sale you will have the cash to purchase.
Eat breakfast for dinner once a week and use the money saved to purchase food storage.
Take five dollars every week and purchase food storage.
Ask for cash for your birthday and Christmas and purchase food storage.
Learn to can and freeze free food from neighbor’s gardens and trees. Right now citrus is ripe and citrus freezes well either squeezed and frozen or frozen whole.
Food - Week Three:
This week we are adding 10 cans of vegetables per family member. I know this sounds like a lot. Look for the veggies on sale; they could be the frozen variety. If you can only afford part of the assignment this week make a note of what you have to catch up on and add those when you have extra cash or there is an amazing sale.
Store - Week 3:
As we planned and then stocked our General Store shelves with food we included foods from all the food groups. This is not, however the end of our planning for the nutritional needs of our family members. During a time of disaster or personal family distress we will need more, not less calories, vitamins and minerals. When we are stressed our bodies need more to remain healthy, enabling us to deal with the tasks at hand.
This week evaluate your vitamin needs and purchase accordingly. You may already be consuming vitamins but remember you will need more when your food choices are limited, especially if you don’t have your food storage where it needs to be to sustain you for three months. Vitamin and supplement choices will be different for all of us depending on our family’s needs. Do a little research if you are unsure what to store but at the very least store some good quality multi vitamins.