A prepper hasn’t been food shopping in four years yet still has enough fresh meals preserved to feed her family of five for a year.
Natasha Gahagan, 31, had always dreamed of having her own homestead and convinced her husband, Dennis Gahagan, 42, who works in landscaping, to move from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to a 7-acre farm near Milwaukee.
The couple moved with their two children, aged 4 and 2, and Mr. Gahagan’s son, 21, and now grow all their own fruit and vegetables and keep chickens and goats.
Mr. and Ms. Gahagan haven’t been to a supermarket for a big food shop in four years. Ms. Gahagan goes once a year to pick up some basic supplies in bulk such as beans and flour. They preserve a year’s worth of food in their cellar, along with ready-to-go meals that can be heated up in five minutes.
Ms. Gahagan, a homesteader and part-time dental assistant, said, “Living off the land was a dream of mine.
“I loved being outdoors. I had always dreamed of living off the grid. We don’t really go to the grocery store. We try to make it. You appreciate what you have more.”
Ms. Gahagan started by growing what she could in her garden in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. But when the family found a piece of land they could afford, they jumped at the chance and moved out to the countryside in January 2015.
The family has an array of animals living on the farm, including cows, ducks, and even peacocks, but currently have goats, chickens, and geese. The family drinks the goat milk and also uses it to make soap to sell.
“We fell in love with the goats,” Ms. Gahagan said, adding that the family tries to grow something new each year.
“We don’t have a big growing season. We grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic, onion, and mushrooms. We have an orchard and make apples, pears, plums, and mulberries.
“We don’t grow things we won’t eat.”
To preserve their food, they use methods such as canning and freeze-drying and have a cellar in their home fully stocked.
“We could live off it for more than a year. We have 200 pounds of flour stocked up,” she said.
Ms. Gahagan has a freeze dryer filled with meals she’s already prepared—ready for their busy periods in spring and summer.
“I’m preserving for convenience,” she said. “I preserve a lot of things for the summer when we [are] busy.”
Ms. Gahagan strives to be as sustainable as she can, gets her meat from farmers, and relies on the supermarkets as little as possible. When they do go, they stock up on supplies they can’t grow themselves or treats such as maple syrup and bananas.
“We do a lot of bulk shopping,” she said. “There is a lot to learn all the time. That’s the fun of it. It’s a dream.
“The city is not for me. I love my home.”
