Why Store Food?

When you are as into food storage as I have become lately, some people out there start to think you have a screw loose.  Some view food storage as hoarding.  Those who haven't caught the vision of a home store just view it as an unnecessary waste of money and space in this modern world we live in where food and water has always been readily available to them.  In a church meeting I attended we were talking about food storage.  A woman who is thinking of joining the church I attend was there and she questioned why we would need food storage because if we have faith then God should just take care of us right?  Well, all of these things have caused me to learn to articulate just why I store food.  Here are my main reasons:

• Religious leaders have encouraged me to do so, which to me equals Heavenly Father asking me to do so.  I view this as His way of taking care of me in an emergency if I am faithful enough to heed His counsel to prepare for the unknown.
• The economy is not exactly stable right now.  I want food storage so that if my husband loses his job we will have one less thing to worry about and I can make sure my family has the nourishment we need to stay healthy. 
• Food storage is very convenient.  When I run out of something or find that I'm short an ingredient in a recipe I'm making, I know that I can go into my storage room and find what I need rather than driving 15 minutes to the grocery store.  
• It encourages healthy eating.  When I'm in too much of a rush to make a meal from fresh ingredients I can whip up a healthy, non processed meal with my food storage rather than turning to more processed, less healthy options such as boxed/frozen dinners or fast food.  It also makes for healthy and tasty snacks.
• If there is an emergency, I won't have to depend on others to take care of me and my family.  Since we will not be struggling to find food we will be able to focus on helping the recovery effort more.  If the situation lasts for a long time we will also be able to help feed our neighbors until help arrives.  
• It is a good investment.  I don't think investing in gold and things like that is a bad idea, but what good is gold if you don't have food to eat?  Also if things fall apart enough for me to need gold, chances are food will be a pretty hot commodity as well and useful for trading and bartering purposes.   If that never happens, then at least I can eat my food and the money spent will be for something I can actually use.

So there are a few of the reasons I store food.  Please comment and share why you are striving to become self reliant by creating a home store!