Tzedakah and emergency preparedness
The CozyWife and I have had an ongoing debate about having an emergency food supply in the house. We prefer to cook fresh foods, so our inventory isn't one that lends well to "just buy an extra box of each item and keep it around" - when all your vegetables are fresh, that doesn't work so well. And we don't want to buy food that we'd never eat, forget to deal with refreshing it, and then have a wasted and pointless expense.
But this weekend, she came up with a very clever plan. Each year, we'll buy a stockpile of goods that will last for at least two years. But at High Holidays, when our congregation makes a call for canned goods for needy families, we will replace our entire supply - and give the previous year's supply as tzedakah.
Now, we'll have our emergency supply on hand, no food will go to waste, *and* we'll end up giving more generously. I think everybody wins. Now, to make a list....
