Expanded Food Storage: Food Storage for Christmas

I think one of the reasons people don't store food for a disaster is that they are afraid of having to eat what they are sure is going to be unpalatable.  And so it's easier not to think about it.  Of course, if they would learn to cook, that would go a long ways toward making food tasty.

Another reason I think is that they don't even think about comfort foods that are going to make difficult times so much more tolerable.

And they can't even get excited about food storage.  But here, we can and do.  Even the kids.  And they really like getting food storage for Christmas.  Yes, I do actually have my children trained well.  It begins when they're young.

Food storage for Christmas does not look like basic food storage.  No one's going to get excited about a case of powdered milk or beans under the tree.  (Well, I might, especially about the milk.  It's pretty expensive stuff.  But I'm a little odd like that.)

What I do to make this a really fun gift is to fill it with each child's favorite food storage foods.  I get a case of jars, usually quart jars, but pints will also do.  Whichever you choose, make sure it fits under the child's bed.  This part is important.

Now vacuum seal in glass jars as wide a variety of their favorite foods as possible.  Ideas include: 

• jerky
• sugar cereal
• instant oatmeal
• granola, granola bars
• Oreos
• popcorn
• fishy crackers
• hot cocoa
• chocolate milk mix like NesQuik
• fruit rolls
• dried fruit--raisins, cranberries, pineapple, watermelon
• gum/gumballs/sugar-free gum
• candy 
• nuts

When you give food storage for Christmas, it become the child's food storage.  It's his/hers to maintain.  Hopefully they learn to space out their treats and it's not all gone in two weeks.  But importantly, they see and experience a constant reminder of the need to store good food (and rotate it!) not just for a crisis, but as a way of life, the memories of which will remain with them throughout their lives and be an impetus for storing food for their own families when they are adults.

Copyright 2018, Jennifer Rader, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com.