Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each paycheck. Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget.

The quote “Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each paycheck. Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget.” by Ezra Taft Benson emphasizes the importance of preparedness, self-reliance, and resourcefulness in managing food. Benson, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and later as a religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), was a strong advocate for food storage and home production as a means of building security and resilience.

In this quote, Benson draws a parallel between food storage and a savings account, suggesting that just as people save money gradually to build financial stability, they should also accumulate food over time to ensure physical sustenance in times of crisis. Whether due to economic hardship, natural disaster, or personal emergencies, having a reliable food reserve can protect individuals and families from uncertainty.

He encourages practical steps such as canning, bottling, drying, and freezing food—methods rooted in traditional practices that empower people to preserve surplus produce and reduce waste. These skills not only foster self-sufficiency but also deepen one’s connection to the land and labor that produces nourishment. By integrating food storage into one's budget, Benson emphasizes that preparedness should be a regular, intentional part of life, not an afterthought.

The quote reflects Benson's lifelong commitment to conservative values, agricultural wisdom, and the idea that spiritual well-being is linked to temporal responsibility. His words continue to resonate in conversations about sustainability, emergency preparedness, and intentional living, encouraging people to take ownership of their basic needs in a world of growing uncertainty.