My Half Acre Homestead: Why Long Term Food Storage?

It Just Makes Sense!!

For Many years I have been wrestling with the desire to make sure we had ENOUGH..I used to garden and can and stock pile..Over the years I have done a lot of growing..and I have figured out why I have the desire to stockpile food...BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE!!
I am not necessarily talking about Prepping for the end of the world.. or anything so drastic.
Let me put it this way...you don't just buy ONE roll of toilet paper right?
If it goes on sale..most of us buy two packages...hedging against the cost going back up...whats wrong with that?
Being Prepared for emergencies is just smart. We have grown so complacent in this day in age with our technology that we don't even consider it failing.
Look at Japans recent Earthquakes? Iceland's Volcanic eruptions...Hurricane Katrina...The oil leak in the Gulf..doesn't effect us? Just look at the cost of gas...and when gas goes up EVERYTHING goes up..look at the economic crash in North America in the last few years..think that won't happen again??
All these things effect the cost of living...Let's scale DOWN a bit..what if your income was suddenly derailed? How would you feed your family for the 3-6 months it could take you to find a new job? What if it took longer? Do you have enough savings to live off of for that long..to cover all your bills?

Having said all that..I am not fear mongering..I am just saying..being properly prepared makes SENSE..especially in these chaotic times.
So if That make me a "Prepper" then so be it!!

We had a 5.5 earthquake here last year..and although We have our own half acre..raise a few animals..have a garden and do a lot of canning...That earthquake made me think..yes I have a well that I can drop a bucket down..but what if the casing gets cracked and the water is not potable?
Yes we raise a lot of our own stuff..but what about the stuff we can't raise and have to buy? And maybe most importantly...When was the last time you saw food prices go DOWN over a period of time instead of UP?

So..I have begun to rethink the way I shop!
When I shop..I buy in as much BULK as I can..and what I don't need over the next two weeks..I store...I have also just tried my hand at Mylar food storage for the first time and am quite pleased with the results.
Mylar is a plastic/foil layered bag that when properly utilized can store most dry food up to 20 years. These I am using for when I bulk buy my flour..Oatmeal..Navy and Kidney beans and rice...I can buy flour and oatmeal in large quantities at almost half the cost of the grocery store..so when I shop..I start at the larger places that sell flour and oats and rice in 15-40 pound bags.
These are things we don't eat every day...so need to be properly stored..but are indispensable if food prices go to high in the event of some economical/natural/or home based emergency, happens.
These are also things I can't raise on my half acre!!
My Aim is to have one years supply of food for my family on hand at any given time..and as I shop..I will use and rotate out the older stored items.
We are Building a pantry..and along with raising our few chickens, goats and ( soon to come) rabbits..My husband wants to take up hunting..This year I am hoping to can 3-4 times what I did last year..as what I managed last year did not last us until even February.
Anyway folks..just thought I would share!