In recent years it has become increasingly evident that we must broaden our conservation efforts to include resources such as food. Rising prices are forcing people to find alternatives to the grocery store. One way to combat the crunch is to store food. Not only does food storage save money, but it also allows seasonal fruits and vegetables to be available throughout the year. In many areas of the rural South, gardening, canning, drying, and smoking are traditional forms of retaining food that have remained vital for years.

Peer into the basement or root cellar of many rural homes and you will find summer's bounty stored for the winter. Potatoes covered with lime fill a bin in one corner of the room. Colorful jars filled with fruit, vegetables, and meat line the walls, while crocks full of still fermenting pickle beans sit in another corner. Dried apples, beans, peaches, and corn are stored in brown paper bags, and home-cured hams hang from beams overhead.