I don't know if I agree. Not everyone has the resources to grow all the food necessary for their large family to live, don't have room for a couple of cattle in their backyard, chicken coups, etc. Perhaps they could grow some fruits and vegetables and maybe have chickens for eggs. Generally speaking, in the past I've found that it would cost more to grow our own food than to just buy it at the store, and while the prices of food at the store are going up, I imagine so is the price of growing it yourself, as the nessary supplies are also going up in cost (which is part of why the food is going up also).
And certainly not everyone has the time to grow enough food for their family. Perhaps a small part of it, but that's about it.
I definitely agree that we should put away some seeds and other supplies for if/when the food supply chain breaks down, but at this time I don't find that it's a huge benefit. I find that I need to work approximately 10-12 hours per week to pay for all our food for the week, and I imagine that it would require a lot more than 10-12 hours per week to keep the same amount of food flowing (enough to feed a family of 8). Also, given that I live in a Northern state, I would have to preserve or can enough food during the growing season to get through the Winter, and canning supplies aren't free either.
Right. Most families would barely be able to produce even a small fraction of what they need in order to feed their family based on their living situation. For families that can't produce a significant amount of food, I still think it prudent to save seeds, produce what you can and learn to preserve it. If we don't teach our kids, who will? I guess that's part of what I'm talking about when I say it's our responsibility. Our children need to understand the value of such things, and to understand that they may find themselves in the situation where they will be glad they have those skills. In that sense, it's more about looking towards the future.
As far as supplies go, it could be expensive if you go to the store and buy new everything. But it doesn't have to be. I collected my massive collection of canning jars in a multitude of different ways. I didn't pay full price for many of them. The nice thing is that they are reusable, except for the lids (at least that's the recommendation, not to reuse canning lids for canning purposes). I do repurpose the lids for fermenting or storing dehydrated goods in jars.
Some examples on saving money (I've done all of these because I've never been "well off")
-Don't go out and buy an official water bath canner. Your 2 gallon pot will do. You'll just have to do less at a time. You don't need to go buy that "canning kit" either, with the apparatus you grab the jars with, the tamper and the magnet. Just use some tongs for grabbing and a butter knife for tamping.
-If you must buy dirt for your pots, buy some dirt once and just keep building it with compost you make from your table scraps. You don't need to go and buy all that fancy fertilizer and whatever else the garden center tells you that you need to grow lots of tomatoes. I've used some crazy things for fertilzer!
-Look for canning jars at estate sales, online buy sell trades, garage sales etc.
-If you can't afford a tiller, just use a spade. It's killer exercise! Better yet, practice no till gardening.
-Don't buy mulch, just save your boxes and newspapers and put grass trimmings down on top of them to prevent weed growth. Fall leaves work great to put on the boxes too. This will help build your soil as well.
-Trade with like minded people in your area for things you need.
Truly, it does not have to be expensive. Once you have your supplies that you can use year after year you are golden You will have to spend some $$ on supplies, but the reward is great.
Topic: Aldi Announces Food Prices to Double in 2023 (Read 6210 times)