Would you have enough for your family if the grocery stores were empty?

My property could probably produce enough food to keep us going for a while, even without being purposely cultivated. If the economy collapsed & I went to stead farming it definently would. We'd be scrimping a bit but we could get by, we've done with little before.

I think it is a great idea to have extra supplies on hand. You never know what might happen when you need them I have a freezer in the basement that I keep full and a pantry with plenty of canned and boxed goods. It actually has saved me money in the long run. When they have a sale on whole pork or beef loins, I buy them and cut them up into smaller portions. I can usually get 4-6 meals per whole loin after I cut it into roasts, boneless chops or steaks. When the can goods go on sale I will purchase extra also. They way the economy has been and is right now, I have been doing this for quite sometime. It saves money at the stores and at the gas pumps.I probably have a least a months supply of food, maybe more.

My family could last a few months on our pantry's supply. I'm hoping to up it to a year's worth with our effort to farm, this year on a little more than an acre. We have a handful of dried goods, a couple extra bags of flour, and a couple shelves worth of canned goods. We try for it to be mostly stuff that we wouldn't mind eating, but my Mom and he friends exchange and give eachother canned goods, so some of the time we'd have to be happy with whatever we'd have on hand. We try to buy extra cans whenever we can, but we often can't. We are lacking on drinking water, though there's a well connected to a natural spring right up the road, so we're not in as bad of a situation as we would be if we couldn't afford electricity and therefore our own well wouldn't work. We only drink water from the well connected to the spring, so we do have a fewboxes of two litre bottles of it. And we have some canned soda and tea, but that'd only last a few weeks, especially as we might need it for cooking. (We'd have to forgo much washing of ourselves, in this kind of situations, and try to only wash what's absolutely necessary of cooking utensils and dishes). So on the water situation, we'd last a few weeks and have to hope w'd have means to go get more water (which costs us nothing but maybe energy or gas, depending if we walk those miles with a wagon or take the car). It's a very good idea. Never mind the shortages idea, but on the rising costs of things...simply notbeing able to purchase anything is the same whether the prices are high or if there's nothing to buy period.

I currently have a years supply of most foods and other needs. There are definately places I could have more, but we can get buy for a long time and that I hope will give us the time to figure it all out. I also have to throw in that I have had this food storage ( not the same, we rotate it ) for the last 10 years ( all of my married life ). There have been many times that we have needed it. When money got tight we ate it and payed bills instead of needing to go to the store. When I was in bed through my two pregnancies we ate a lot of it. It isnt just a huge disaster that causes a need for this. I am a Mormon, but many Mormons do not have food storage. I think that in my area only 20% of active members have any and few have a full years.

I think that having a little in store is quite a good idea. But if everyone does it to excess you end up with panic buying and empty shelves sooner and unnecessarily. The US seems to panic more than the rest of the world about food shortages. I don't understand why that should be. You have so much land that could be cultivated - although successive governments attitudes to small farmers has been less than encouraging - and as you say, you can always start to grow your own. Once you have your stockpile you then need to defend it. Then we have internecine warfare. The breakdown of society and anarchy. Personally I would introduce rationing at the first sight of shortages as we had here a few years ago when the oil truck drivers went on strike and goods couldn't be distributed. It was a curiously pleasant time. We experienced hardship for just long enough to "pull together" and before we descended into self-preservation at all cost.

I'm not sure we'd last a month, but I've got a fair amount of dried and tinned food stored away. I'd feel happier if our garden was already productive. We've moved so I'm having to start afresh with a veggie garden this year.

I agree that most of us are not ready for a natural disaster, or even a three day ice storm, let alone the collapse of the market and supply system.. [Also, according to Bible prophecy (though everyone misses it) there will be 45 days of not being able to buy and sell with the last ten being mortally critical.. Three and half (Hebrew) years after they tear down the wailing wall where the Jewish folks pray daily, is when this will occur..]

We have quite a bit of food at my house. I'm not sure how much food we actually have on hand, but we do have probably a month or more of food stored at my house. Whenever there is a sale on boxed food stuffs or anything that we normally use, we buy a few boxes of that food stuff and keep it on hand. We have a lot of pasta type noodles and those things can last quite awhile.

I think it would be more practical to ask yourself... Why would the stores be empty? You can have food shortage due to a strike or a natural disaster. But in both cases... those would be short lived as your government would swing into action to get food back on the shelves. Food shortage only happens during war time... when your country is under attack or occupied by the enemy. And this is very unlikely to happen to the USA. Having one month supply is not a bad idea. But one month is not that long... when I consider that I do my shopping only once every two weeks. Which means I buy two weeks supply.

I have enough to last a few weeks to a month. I don't eat processed or canned foods much. I buy a few cans of tomatoes for convenience and stuffed grape leaves and canned fruit for emergencies, but that's about it. Mostly its rice grains beans and pasta. I also have dried fruits and nuts. They last a long time and are yummy. When I was in the States I had a neighbor who got free government surplus food and she didn't use it all. She put it in the foyer of our building and I always took it when I saw it. I had a years supply of cornmeal, oatmeal and other grains when I left the country. I gave it to my parents. They were happy to get it as it's good free food.

I guess that might work fo some emergencies but not all emergencies. What if we have to evacuate from an area because of fire or flood quickly. How much can we take with us? Of course it's always good to prepare for some emergencies, though as to food I don't have too much stored. I usually shop every few days.

That is strange I started such a discussion and question on another board that I am on. They tend to be good shoppers though and try saving money. They tend to stock up when there is a sale. Most of them would last at least a month, probably two, which is just about what I would last in a food crisis. Unfortunately I no longer live in the country so have no woodstove nor a way of doing without electricity. If the power went off in the winter I would be in trouble. I had considered getting a generator so I could keep the freezer going for at least a few days. I have a barbeque on the back patio that I could cook with until the propane runs out. Eventually I would have my supplies run out though in a matter of weeks. I also have a wind up radio and a couple of flashlights that work. Other than that I have no formal emergency plan.

We've been trying to slowly get things set up so that we do have at least 2 weeks stored up. It's a bit difficult in an apartment setting to find the room, but we're creating. We also have been working on our first aid kits as well.

In this day and age you should have enough time to prepare for a crisis unless the wars cause nuclear destruction and you wouldn't have to worry about it anyway. I think a month's supply is smart.

I've done more than stocking canned goods in my pantry. I've actually started a small vegetable garden. One good thing about living in the Philippines is that we are not too dependent on supermarkets. We have markets where we can buy fresh vegetables and stuff. Even when there was a rice shortage last year, I was not that affected because my household does not consume that much rice. Now, if the store shelves were empty....I don't know. I don't want to contemplate on the extremes. But for now, I hope my vegetable garden will be sufficient for some veggies that I don't have to buy.

i think it isa really good idea to stock food items. I do store groceries but just so that it surfices for another month. i really dont know what to do if the supplies are over and you are not getting anything anywhere. The thought of it is suffocating.

Hi dragon54u! I try to always keep extra food in the house just in case of an emergency! My boyfriend is always making fun of me for doing this! He just doesn't understand why I buy extra and feel the need to have extra food on hand. But, I do feel that it is important. But, you can only be so prepared! If we were to lose gas and electricity we would really be in trouble because we would have not way to cook so I really need to stock up some things that don't need cooking too!

This is post #2 as I have a comment to add. Most of my supplies I like to stock up on when they are on sale. For example I got some canned beans on sale and bought a dozen or so as they were almost half price. I am presently waiting for a dollar sale at one of the stores that will be starting tomorrow that will be selling canned soup for a dollar that normally sells for up to two dollars. It takes a bit of planning but I try to eat healthy and not eat the sugary and fatty junk foods. My system of food and toiletries like shampoo, etc , other than stocking up on staples is with a few exceptions is a one in hand system. Most people wait until they run out to get a new jar or bottle of stuff. I always have one in the cupboard, and when the one I am using is finished and I grab the one in the cupboard, then I rebuy or look for sales. By the time I use the second jar I have replaced it in the cupboard so always have a spare. That way I am not running to the store in a panic having run out of shampoo or mayonnaise, etc. As commented earlier I am good for a couple of months unless the power goes off as right now I have small freezer full of food. I like to stockpile in the winter time so I do not have to rush out in the middle of a snow storm to get essentials. I have some milk frozen and some skim milk powder.

I think I would, but I don't have kids. I buy Tasty Bite meals that don't need heating and store for 18 months. I always have lots of grains and beans, so if there was a heat source I would be okay. I think it is a good idea, because you never know. All our earthquakes here are usually minor, but you never know when a serious one is going to hit or a tornado or flood in many places.

I think i would not be panic buying since we are just two here and still waiting to have a baby of our own. Most of the time, people panic when prices of commodities rise up. It will be an advantage of course if you have an ample amount of stock at home. I myself would like to save money, so it is much better to buy an extra so that just in case prices would go up again, you have your stock and you will need to refill it by the time it finished up. Most of the stocks i buy were laundry soap, laundry powder, shampoo, fabric conditioner and some canned goods. But since i am here with my hubby, i don't do the same thing like i used to do back in my country.