A 52-WEEK FOOD STORAGE PLAN

Here's a link to a great 52-week food storage plan that is easily incorporated into the family budget and menu-planning.

If you've tried and failed before, or if you've collected the food but wasted a fortune on seventeen-year-old spaghetti sauce that you never rotated, try, try again. This plan will probably be perfect for you.

And if you're a person who doesn't see the need for stashing away cans and jars of food when there's a perfectly good grocery store down the road, let me share my personal testimonial about the wisdom of storing and rotating a food supply.

We've found ourselves in need of, and grateful for, our food supply over the years. Several times we were out of work, and having that stockpile of staples and treats was a budget blessing and a source of great comfort. A parent's worry eases when they know they are still providing for their family even when a paycheck isn't coming in, because in their time of plenty, they prepared.

It's also a great convenience to have your own little grocery tucked away. Many is the time I've been able to avoid a trip to the store because a needed item was already in my storage. Likewise, when all your neighbors are in their bread-milk-eggs-and-toilet-paper panic because of an impending snow, you can sit tight and know that whatever befalls you, including power outages, you are in a position to help yourself and others if need be.

Lastly, and perhaps the most practical reason why I love my storage, is that I am no longer at the mercy of store pricing. I can now afford to wait until items are on sale to buy them, because I have sufficient goods on hand to wait out the price increases.

So give this plan a try. It's easy and can be adjusted to suit your own family's tastes. I didn't design it, but I'd love to shake the hand of the person who did.