[miho]

I have about 200 lbs of rice,80 lbs of beans and enough canned goods to stock up a food bank for about 8 months. Im a single mom on very low budget for prepping.everytime I get paid I hit dollar stores for things that might be useful later on.i have 3 kids and theyre my motivation to prep and be ready.last saturday I passed by the park and they had a food box give away and clothes so on.the line.was huge.after I got home seeing all my.food kinda gave me this guilty feeling like theres people hungry and here I have all this just waiting for s to htf. I live in an apartment so my preps are all over,kinda hard to avoid looking at them.is it normal to.feel guilty? im not trying to be greedy just dont want my boys to be hungry.i come from a family of preppers and I told my sister about it she just said youre not greedy youre just doing what.you need to do. Might sound silly but I see lot of kids in my area who eat at school and then go to the soup kitchen for dinner.im currently volunteering there and I do what I can to help.i treat them like theyre my guest and I get lot of compliments for it.was thinking maybe I need to take time off from volunteering that might be why I feel guilty.

 

[wesley762]

Never feel guilty for doing what you need to do to take care of your family. The fact that your Volunteering is doing something to help. Never let guilt put your family in a place where it trumps there needs first. Just my 2 cents

 

[AsteroidX]

I have no guilt. Except I let my inside cat out earlier this week and now I believe she froze to death because of my Tom..

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

That aint being stupid and that aint being greedy. Thats called being smart and doing what you need to do to make ends meet and look out for you and yours. You volunteer at the soup kitchen so its not like its free and your taking advantage of it. So dont be afraid to look in the mirror or sleep easy at night!

 

[miho]

I love kids,even thought mine drive me nuts from time to time lol and it breaks my heart to see the children and not know if they sleep warm and so on. I have a good job,but being only income in todays economy make it hard. Just wish I could do more.my sister might be right I have a pillow for a heart.

 

[miho]

good point,thanks.

 

[Smitty901]

You can not carry them . You help you do what you can. But in the end if you do not also take care of your house there will be no one left to help anyone.
In many ways it is the giving away that has caused the growth in the needy.

 

[ekim]

You can not carry them . You help you do what you can. But in the end if you do not also take care of your house there will be no one left to help anyone.
In many ways it is the giving away that has caused the growth in the needy.

Those that just give blindly to any and all just to "feel" good about themselves are the ones who usually cause the problem that leads to a rampant needy help me crowd. A helping hand it great, but when it become a way of life it becomes a problem; welfare for life, unemployment for years, drug abuse etc.

 

[shotlady]

they have every bit of time and opportunity to prep as you have, they havent wanted to make concessions and sacrifices you did. why do you feel guilty... dont
theres an old country song, you can feel bad if it makes you feel better...

 

[rice paddy daddy]

miho, you are a single mom with a small income for prepping. You need to put your kids first, and you are doing this by stocking food for hard times.
Now, you are already giving the soup kitchen your most valuable thing - your time. Anybody can donate a can of beans, how many are giving what you are? A person can always buy another can of beans, but once time is spent it's gone forever.
Do not feel guilty. You are doing a good thing.

 

[Lucky Jim]

...seeing all my food kinda gave me this guilty feeling like theres people hungry and here I have all this just waiting for s to htf...

You'd feel a lot more guilty watching your kids starve in front of your eyes when it hits the fan because you hadn't stocked enough food for them, so I say carry on stocking..
Food (and water) is LIFE, so keep this picture below in your mind to remind you what might happen if you skimp on your stockpiling, it could be your little daughter after you gave her the last morsel of food to keep her alive, resulting in you starving to death yourself, leaving her all alone in the big bad SHTF world.

"Mummy's asleep and she won't wake up"...

 

[shotlady]

gard your children and their provisions jealously.

 

[Lucky Jim]

In a SHTF world there'll be no room for pity or guilt, a woman's first duty is to protect her cubs like this mountain lioness is doing..

 

[WVprepper]

No guilt here either.. We should not feel bad for looking out for ourselves and our family..

 

[jandor123]

I agree with everybody and believe you need to take care of you and your's first. However, there is a place for generosity and kindness in our lives. Any of us may be gone tomorrow, and all you have may go somewhere you never expect or want. There is no guilt in taking care of yourself, and no need for remorse for those who do not take care of themselves. But a kind, helping hand can sometimes make the difference between a person who can lift themselves up and begin to care for themselves. Dont want to sound preachy, but I have lived in small towns, and there, people help people, friends help friends, and those who have, help those who dont.
;-)

 

[bennettvm]

No reason to feel guilty. You are volunteering to help which is a noble thing to do. You could always donate a portion of your stored food if you really want. 10% here and there. In my opinion I think that you are doing a lot more than most people.

 

[Denton]

You are being silly.

You are responsible for your family, not the world. You do the best you can, and others have that same responsibility.

 

[Lucky Jim]

As I've mentioned before, our cycling club entered a 100-mile Reliability Trial some years ago, we had to pedal it in 8 hours in the middle of winter.
Like a fool I was showing my small ruck around before the start, crammed full of bottles of energy drink and nutrition bars, fruit etc.
You guessed it, people kept coming up to me on the ride trying to leech off me, begging food and drink, but I refused pointblank because I'd only just got enough for myself!
So they were dropping out like flies all round the course and only me and a few others finished.
Did I feel guilty? No way hozay, I felt ANGRY at the scrounging parasites for having the cheek to expect me to feed them.
I mean, I prepped for the event by packing my little ruck, so they could have easily done the same then they wouldn't have been losers..

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24)

"If you hang around with losers you become a loser"- Donald Trump

 

[jandor123]

As I've mentioned before, our cycling club entered a 100-mile Reliability Trial some years ago, we had to pedal it in 8 hours in the middle of winter.
Like a fool I was showing my small ruck around before the start, crammed full of bottles of energy drink and nutrition bars, fruit etc.
You guessed it, people kept coming up to me on the ride trying to leech off me, begging food and drink, but I refused pointblank because I'd only just got enough for myself!
So they were dropping out like flies all round the course and only me and a few others finished.
Did I feel guilty? No way hozay, I felt ANGRY at the scrounging parasites for having the cheek to expect me to feed them.
I mean, I prepped for the event by packing my little ruck, so they could have easily done the same then they wouldn't have been losers..

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24)

"If you hang around with losers you become a loser"- Donald Trump

Well. ok - thats a bit different than a life or death situation. Im sure you were really cool with your ruck of stuff, and every body considered you real ass for not sharing ;-) (just kidding)
But, communities exist because individuals contribute and care for each other. Let's say everything we prep for happens tomorrow, after we make it through the first few days/weeks/months, what is our goal. Where are we going? We are all a community of like minded individuals, some with skills, some with strong backs, all hopefully with something positive to contribute. We will want to pull together and rebuild. Its not a time for singleminded selfishness, it will be a time for togetherness and sharing ...haha everybody sing kumbaya ;-)

 

[shotlady]

yes, but those people would have prepped, there should be no room for people who do not do for them selves, as if you dont do for your self, you cant be trusted to pull the line for the group. so every one comes to the table with something.

then we just keep feeding the dependant mind. people who do nothing for themselves, but expect to be in on the goodness.
yes cooperation is the best way- but welfare is not.