We began our preperation about 18 months ago when we realized how bad things were getting. We’ve always planted a garden and done some home canning but we’ve gone into overdrive the last 1.5 year.
We now have about 9-12 months of food stored which we rotate to keep fresh. Factory canned goods will last about 2 years, home canned food will last as long as the seal remains unbroken. We planted 3 gardens this year and, dispite a historic drought, have gone through over 300 canning jars so far. We’ve even canned chicken that we raised, the deer I shot last year, and some older beef from the frezzer.
As a source of reference material I’d recommend “Backwoods Home Magazine”, they’re what “Mother Earth News” was before they went environazi.
It can be done quite quickly, however, be prepared to defend what you store or keep it a closely guarded secret. When things implode there will be those who will try to take what you’ve stored if they know it’s there.
We've been prepping for years. I have about a year of stored stuff. I can and dehydrate. We bought a 1/4 side of beef last month, in a couple weeks we'll get our 1/2 pig. Check out your local butchers. The beef came out to $2.29 a pound, about 200 pounds. The pig, $1.69, about 100 pounds.
We've got a small stash that is a-building. In any event, when the SHTF and people have to line up for food rations, we intend to show up - otherwise inquiring minds will ask "How come THEY don't show up? Let's see what they got!"