Food Storage Questions

[The_RealEnigma]

Okay short and simple, I'm Army, single and live in the barracks, I know that food storage is something we are strongly advised to do owing to the need to be prepaired for an emergency (i.e. sudden unemployment, natural disaster, etc.) My greatest fear is that the Army in its over eagerness to kick people out in order to reduce it's numbers are going to one day say "we don't need you, here's your pink slip, sucks to be you!" I have seen it happen so don't doubt me. If I have somekind of food storage I can at least feed myself for a while without having to spend my carefully saved money reserves. I am hoping that maybe some other LDS soldiers can give me some insight, ofcourse there could always be a natural disaster or a terrorist attack and I wan't to know if it really makes sense for me to try and have a food stash just in case?

[CV75]

Have a trusted civilian family member or friend store for you in case of unexpected discharge--send them the money to do it. Start small and build gradually over time as suggested on the Provident Living website. You can retreive it upon discharge or agree to have them reimburse you if they keep it for themselves.

[thesometimesaint]

Off base storage places a pretty common here in the US, and relatively cheap on a month to month basis. Start small with easy to carry stuff as bulky items and numerous PCS's are tough on anyone's budgets even with the military picking up most of the costs. Add to your food storage as you can.

[Calm]

Buying a couple of the nonperishable food items you normally buy everytime you shop and stocking up when they are on sale will build your food storage up gradually.

If you can find a copy of Food Storage for the Clueless , it is the best manual on food storage I have ever seen. I don't remember anything about the military but I am pretty sure it had some stuff about younger families or single people that move alot that might be helpful in your case.

[The_RealEnigma]

Thanks for the Input, I never thought of any of that, so thanks!

[Garden Girl]

Thanks for the Input, I never thought of any of that, so thanks!

In addition to the suggestions here, IF you can afford it, there are several companies that make prepackaged foods in containers that take up very little space and last forever. You could get a few months vs the whole year's supply, for instance 3 months for one person, and then add to it as you can with individual items a little at a time as suggested above. But you'd have the basics right away. I see the companies advertised on BYU-TV, and in Church News, etc. It's an option to begin with that you could check out.

GG

[rpn]

Heck, if you are in a place where the MRE's are more than you need for a day, you could just save one of those a day for 30 days and store them in boxes under your bunk. I would urge you to have a 72 hour kit stored though.