Is it nuts to be prepping for a food shortage?

[Anonymous]

I think based on this thread we're semi-preppers - between both DH and I being really good cooks and my growing up quite poor, we like to have an extremely stocked pantry, and we have a chest freezer stuffed to the gills with meat (some game). The portion of this stockpile that is shelf-stable is more to do with my parsimony than fear of societal collapse - canned beans are stupid expensive compared to dried! We also have a pretty serious garden (5 raised beds and 8 fruit trees) more because I think of myself as an urban hippie than because fruit might not be for sale at Safeway.

That said, in January 2020 I veered more Serious Prepper (TM) and stocked up on "sh*t might be heading toward the fan" stuff: SPAM, canned veggies (not our vibe), shelf-stable milk for our then-one year old. I ended up donating most of it because it never got to that point and we're not going to eat SPAM unless the alternative is German Shepherd. So my prepping days have taught me that there's no harm in stocking up on shelf-stable food we'll actually eat during a sale, but it's a waste of money to buy apocalypse food. If society collapsed we'd head out of town and not be able to load up a pantry full of SPAM anyway.

[Anonymous]

As long as she is storing food that will stay good for a long time, then I can see her point.

Was she poor growing up at all??
Because if she was - sometimes the fundamental fear of going hungry may still linger.

I see no negative in planning ahead in life.
As we all experienced in 2020 > life can change dramatically overnight & it never hurts to be prepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before COVID we ate exclusively fresh food. I went to the store once or twice a week to buy what we needed. I never used something from a can -- gross, never. I never bought frozen food unless it was ice cream or tilapia. We just didn't eat or shop like that.

During COVID I had to spend a small fortune on Whole Foods and Instacart deliveries. I never knew WHEN I could schedule a delivery or what they would have in stock. Every delivery was missing multiple items. I didn't like it at all. I don't care if we never have food shortages that lead to rioting and shooting pet dogs, or totally empty shelves like they had in the former Soviet Union -- what I went through during COVID was stressful enough, thanks.

Now we have a good pantry of foods we like and can probably live off of for 3 months. I'm glad we have it. I will never go back to being unprepared.

So you were too lazy to go to the store for yourself and shop for your own family and had to deal with a few missing items that you expected someone else to pack and deliver to your front door? And that was stressful to you? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

Your comment adds nothing to the thread.

It adds what I was thinking, but too lazy to type.

[Anonymous]

I grow my own cilantro and dill and lettuce
I think fresh herbs are over priced, but I like them so I have some growing.
Rosemary is my favorite for the occasional time I make a roast. Except to buy it fresh will add another few dollars to the cost of the roast

I had some swiss chard for n my yard. It was beautiful and a deer came and ate it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before COVID we ate exclusively fresh food. I went to the store once or twice a week to buy what we needed. I never used something from a can -- gross, never. I never bought frozen food unless it was ice cream or tilapia. We just didn't eat or shop like that.

During COVID I had to spend a small fortune on Whole Foods and Instacart deliveries. I never knew WHEN I could schedule a delivery or what they would have in stock. Every delivery was missing multiple items. I didn't like it at all. I don't care if we never have food shortages that lead to rioting and shooting pet dogs, or totally empty shelves like they had in the former Soviet Union -- what I went through during COVID was stressful enough, thanks.

Now we have a good pantry of foods we like and can probably live off of for 3 months. I'm glad we have it. I will never go back to being unprepared.

So you were too lazy to go to the store for yourself and shop for your own family and had to deal with a few missing items that you expected someone else to pack and deliver to your front door? And that was stressful to you? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

Your comment adds nothing to the thread.

It adds what I was thinking, but too lazy to type.

So you read a thread and just think a comment but you're too lazy to actually type it, and you think that somehow adds to the thread? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

[Anonymous]

Serious question... so what is the tipping point where you go from just being a family that is well prepared for a true emergency to one that will be considered/called crazy preppers? For example, we keep enough food, water and other emergency supplies on hand to allow our family of 4 to survive for a month without leaving the house. This doesn't seem crazy at all to us. Three years ago very few people would have believed that places would force citizens to stay in their homes for extended periods (like Shanghai). And the threat of a virus even more severe than the current variants of COVID no longer sounds unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before COVID we ate exclusively fresh food. I went to the store once or twice a week to buy what we needed. I never used something from a can -- gross, never. I never bought frozen food unless it was ice cream or tilapia. We just didn't eat or shop like that.

During COVID I had to spend a small fortune on Whole Foods and Instacart deliveries. I never knew WHEN I could schedule a delivery or what they would have in stock. Every delivery was missing multiple items. I didn't like it at all. I don't care if we never have food shortages that lead to rioting and shooting pet dogs, or totally empty shelves like they had in the former Soviet Union -- what I went through during COVID was stressful enough, thanks.

Now we have a good pantry of foods we like and can probably live off of for 3 months. I'm glad we have it. I will never go back to being unprepared.

So you were too lazy to go to the store for yourself and shop for your own family and had to deal with a few missing items that you expected someone else to pack and deliver to your front door? And that was stressful to you? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

Your comment adds nothing to the thread.

It adds what I was thinking, but too lazy to type.

So you read a thread and just think a comment but you're too lazy to actually type it, and you think that somehow adds to the thread? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

I thought the same as PP. I mean, really, you are prepping because you were missing a few items from a food delivery?

[Anonymous]

Everyone made fun of me for prepping, and now look at the cost of food. I’m a nanny and can’t afford these prices. When Walmart cans of chickpeas, beans, corn, etc were 50 cents, I stocked up. Now those same cans are 78 cents. 28 cents isn’t much to most of you, but now that I can’t afford cereal, I eat spiced chickpeas for breakfast. I also stocked up on dry beans and rice. Planning ahead is what is getting me through. I have an entire room full of back stock, and between my stock and outdoor garden (I’m in California) I don’t even have to grocery shop. Also cut out all meat, to save money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious question... so what is the tipping point where you go from just being a family that is well prepared for a true emergency to one that will be considered/called crazy preppers? For example, we keep enough food, water and other emergency supplies on hand to allow our family of 4 to survive for a month without leaving the house. This doesn't seem crazy at all to us. Three years ago very few people would have believed that places would force citizens to stay in their homes for extended periods (like Shanghai). And the threat of a virus even more severe than the current variants of COVID no longer sounds unbelievable.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before COVID we ate exclusively fresh food. I went to the store once or twice a week to buy what we needed. I never used something from a can -- gross, never. I never bought frozen food unless it was ice cream or tilapia. We just didn't eat or shop like that.

During COVID I had to spend a small fortune on Whole Foods and Instacart deliveries. I never knew WHEN I could schedule a delivery or what they would have in stock. Every delivery was missing multiple items. I didn't like it at all. I don't care if we never have food shortages that lead to rioting and shooting pet dogs, or totally empty shelves like they had in the former Soviet Union -- what I went through during COVID was stressful enough, thanks.

Now we have a good pantry of foods we like and can probably live off of for 3 months. I'm glad we have it. I will never go back to being unprepared.

So you were too lazy to go to the store for yourself and shop for your own family and had to deal with a few missing items that you expected someone else to pack and deliver to your front door? And that was stressful to you? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

Your comment adds nothing to the thread.

It adds what I was thinking, but too lazy to type.

So you read a thread and just think a comment but you're too lazy to actually type it, and you think that somehow adds to the thread? You won't make it through a real food shortage.

I thought the same as PP. I mean, really, you are prepping because you were missing a few items from a food delivery?

Yes, it was ongoing stress about getting a delivery slot and the items I ordered. Now I don't have to worry. Whatever happens, we are covered. I'm glad I have that food in my pantry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even without a serious food shortage, she has dodged the inflation bullet by socking away food a few months ago. Good for her.

Actually stockpiling causes inflation because it artificially concentrates purchases that would have been spread out over months. Thanks a lot grandma.

This is why inflation is a runaway train. People see a little bit of inflation and then they panic buy and cause an inflationary spriral.

[Anonymous]

There is no Walmart brand pasta aside from weird types (elbow etc) to be found in Los Angeles. Wish I had hoarded barilla, when it was 99 cents. The minute I find it again at Walmart, I’m hoarding. I can’t afford this shit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even without a serious food shortage, she has dodged the inflation bullet by socking away food a few months ago. Good for her.

Actually stockpiling causes inflation because it artificially concentrates purchases that would have been spread out over months. Thanks a lot grandma.

This is why inflation is a runaway train. People see a little bit of inflation and then they panic buy and cause an inflationary spriral.

You really think buying a case of chickpeas is going to cause the price of chickpeas to go up? This is is not why inflation is a runaway train -- it's because everyone got their stimulus checks and suddenly had money to spend.

You sound way more high strung and hysterical than someone stocking up on beans and rice.

[Anonymous]

I am Indian American. I am not prepping for any food shortage, hike in food price etc because culturally, we always have a fully stocked pantry of shelf stable raw materials because most of us cook from scratch. We all will have rice, wheat flour, chickpeas flour, semolina, white flour, barley flour, millet flour, quinoa, dried beans and lentils (several kind), pickles, a hundred different whole spices, spice blends, tea, coffee, condensed milk, tomato paste, tomato sauce, olive oil, mustard oil, ghee, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, jaggery, raw nuts, raisins, dried fruits etc. And we can feed the family for around 8-9 months easily.

We also keep a whole lot of condiments and ingredients of other cuisines because if you can master Indian cooking (which is sort of complicated and long drawn) then other cuisines are not that hard - Italian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, American - these are staples. And then we have multiple fridges and freezers because an Indian household and socializing pretty much revolves around food, food, food.

[Anonymous]

6-12 months ago, people made fun of me for buying dry milk and egg replacers. One poster kept harping and telling me to stop posting and asked if I was advertising for egg replacers. Really hope she’s enjoying her $7 grass fed free range organic egg prices.