TDLR; I'm preparing to be able to go 1 year without hitting the grocery store.
People, if you have kids, please get organized for a pretty rough time. We have a convergence of crises, which can make life rough for a while. We are now in a historic solar minimum. That's going to disrupt agricultural output significantly. China is expecting Biblical flooding this spring, which is likely to wipe out as much as 25% of some of their staple crops. If we combine this with conflicts and raising energy prices, we can definitely see supply chain disruptions.
My intention is to have a year of food on hand for my family at all times, and then rotate through the food. I'm surprised how easy and inexpensive it can be. I got about 2 months of storage food and then bought bulk grains, pasta, beans, etc from https://www.webstaurantstore.com/.
I then bought spirulina and protein powder for the family enough for 2 months. My thinking is derived from thinking about the families who lived through WWII. If I was a year away from an event like WWII, what would I do now to prepare?
- food
- bug out plan
- community
- 2A gear
- light, 1st aid, tools
- Fuel and generator
- Ham radio
- printed maps with off-freeway routing
- silver coins
It doesn't affect me at all if everything stays cool and there are no problems at all. We will just consume it and rotate the stores. If SHTF, there will be wild mobs fighting over supplies and we'll be able to operate strategically.
Am curious if this is different this time, or the same hype we heard about Y2K? Lots of urgency then about “stocking up” and it turned out to be a nothing burger. While I do have survival food on hand, am wondering about all the rest of it.
It's a really good question. For every 1 real crisis, there are at least 10 crises that did not materialize. I have to tell you, however - history does have enough very deep, tragic crises to make it worth preparing.
I think it's less than 3% likely that I will need these supplies. The most likely scenario is that food choices become limited and are much more expensive.
I just really like what happens as a result of having this reserve. Should a mild crisis come, I won't even notice it! Let's say the hack of our power grid results in a week without power, for example. I'd go through that like it's nothing. Even, God forbid, a month of power disruptions - still fine!
My goal is to be in a place where I can operate strategically in time of crisis. i won't have nearly as much urgency whatever comes.
Thanks, Pilgrim ... all this is worth thinking about.