Yet; where are the stories of them munching away on their year supply of food they have stored away?
They do, its called rotation.
Besides what makes a better headline?
Family dips into food stock they prepared for bad times
or
Family forced to dumpster dive to feed themselves
My husband’s family was Mormon back to the 1700s. Originally, they were told to have a 2 year supply of food. The government eventually took issue with that. It was negotiated that the church would back it down to a one year supply. They buy what they eat and rotate stock. For example, I don’t have a year’s worth of Marmite/Vegemite because no one here would eat it. I do have some Spam for in a pinch, having lived in Hawaii. Growing up in the Midwest, living through bad snow storms, tornadoes, etc., we’d lose power for days. I’m not an Apocalypse prepper, but I do have a very well stocked pantry. I buy what we eat and rotate so that the earliest bought can is used first. It just seems like common sense to me.