3 Month Supply - The Journey

Last year (2008) our ward (congregation) at church set a goal that all members would have a 3 month supply of food on hand by the end of the year. I must admit, that when I read the goal in January of 2008, I sort of dismissed it because I knew that there was no way I could add extra food into our already too tight budget. It frustrated me because the goal was one that I knew we needed to work on, but I had no idea how to accomplish it. In August, I attended a class at our local library about Super Couponing in order to learn more about saving money on groceries and the light went ON. This was THE ONLY way without increasing our income that we could accomplish the goal and this is the result. Have we accomplished the goal? Not quite yet, unless we eat ONLY cereal (130 + boxes) and hot chocolate (started with 70 boxes and I think we're down to 50ish). But we are much closer than we were 4 months ago and we have the knowledge to accomplish the goal. We have quite a few side dish foods (rice and potatoes) and some canned veggies (about a month's worth). Did this kill the budget? I would have to say no. Those 70 boxes of hot chocolate cost under $2 - for ALL of them. The cereal? Each box cost between $.03 and $.50 with the average being less than $.20. We have a year's supply of razors for about $15 out of pocket (I know you can't eat those but you do still have to look good and feel good about how you look). Many of the items cost NOTHING - we MADE money (coupons for groceries or overage towards other items) by buying some items. Not only has this method helped us, we have been able to donate many items to our local food pantry. So we're able to help ourselves and others. Our goal this year is to round out this supply and continue to build our year's supply. We want to continue to contribute to the food pantry and help others learn how to do this themselves so they can be self-reliant.