- How long can you subsist on the food you normally have on hand?
- Use the foods you have stored, and rotate them into your normal menu planning- especially if you have stored primarily grains and beans. Your digestive system needs to adapt to a dramatic change in diet.
- Organize your reserves so you know what you have and their shelf lives. Mark on the boxes or cans the date they were acquired.
- Inspect food reserves periodically for damage or animal and insect infestation.
- Know the shelf life of the foods you have on hand so you consume them accordingly in an emergency, start with perishables, and then refrigerated- frozen- bottled- canned- traditional commodities- long shelf life foods.
- Develop basic cooking, food preserving and preparation skills now. Take classes, read books and magazines. Subscribe and get back issues of specialized magazines that feature self-reliant skills and information.
Read Storing Food – The 6 Issues at this blog.