I am a new member to this forum and have "lurked" for a couple of months. I can only say that I have garnered so much information from reading what you all have had to offer in information and encouragement.

My husband and I are very new to the idea of food storage. We are only about 3 months into our effort, but, I believe, have made great strides.

First, we had to determine what our goal was (1 year storage). Then we had to decide, based on our usual diet, what we would be using. We converted a closet to a storage pantry, made up a projection list, and started our acquisitions.

Our initial list was made up of basic staples, which we acquired fairly quickly. Now we have started on various additions, such as dehydrated eggs, canned butter and canned meat. Honestly, we have had to take into consideration what our typical use of any particular item is. For instance, the dehydrated eggs; we don't eat or use eggs very often, so it made more sense for us to buy smaller packages that the #10 cans. Also, we live in a rural area directly on a lake, so are able to hunt and fish as well as grow vegetables, so have a bit of leeway in our storage efforts. At the beginning of 2010, we had a whole house LP generator installed which will be helpful for moderate power outages.

Additionally, I've started baking our bread and have been learning to can. Unfortunately, I have no "mentors" to assist in this learning process, but we are certainly making some headway with it and our confidence level is steadily increasing.

Anyway, I just wanted to take moment to introduce myself and to thank everyone for the incredible information and wonderful sharing tone of this forum.