"I haven't been food shopping in four years but have enough fresh meals preserved to feed my family for a year."

A prepper who hasn’t been food shopping in FOUR years yet still has enough fresh meals preserved to feed her family-of-five for a year.

Natasha Gahagan, 31, had always dreamed of having her own homestead and convinced her husband, Dennis, 42, to move from Sheboygan, Wisconsin to a seven acre farm outside of the city.

The couple moved with their two children – four and two – and Dennis' son, 21, and now grow all their fruit and vegetables and keep chickens and goats.

Natasha and Dennis, who works in landscaping haven't been to a supermarket for a big food shop in four years.

She goes once a year to pick up some basic supplies in bulk such as beans and flour.

They preserve a years’ worth of food in their cellar, along with ready-to-go meals which can be heated up in five minutes.

Natasha, a homesteader and part-time dental assistant, who lives near Milwaukee, Wisconsin said: “Living off the land was a dream of mine.

“I loved being outdoors. I had always dreamed of living off the grid.

“We don’t really go to the grocery story.

“We try to make it.

“You appreciate what you have more.”

Natasha has always wanted to “live off the land” and started to grow what she could in her garden in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

But when the family found a piece of land they could afford they jumped at the chance and moved out to the countryside in January 2015.

The family have had an array of animals living at the farm – from cows, ducks and peacocks – but currently have goats, chickens and geese.

Natasha uses the goat milk for the family to drink and make soap to sell.

She said: “We fell in love with the goats.”

Natasha says the family try and grow something new each year.

She said: “We don’t have a big growing season. We grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic, onion and mushrooms.

“We have an orchard and make apples, pears, plums and mulberries.

“We don’t grow thing we won’t eat.”

To preserve their food they use methods such as canning and freeze drying and have a cellar in their home stocked up.

Natasha said: “We could live off it for more than a year.

“We have 200lbs of flour stocked up.”

Natasha has a freeze dryer filled with meals she has already prepared – ready for their busy periods in spring and summer.

She said: “I’m preserving for convenience.

“I preserve a lot of things for the summer when were busy.”

Natasha hopes to become as sustainable as she can and gets her meat from farmers and relies on the supermarkets as little as possible.

They only visit once a year to stock up on supplies they can’t grow or treats such as maple syrup and bananas.

Natasha said: “We do a lot of bulk shopping.

“There is a lot to learn all the time.

“That’s the fun of it.

“It’s a dream.

“The city is not for me. I love my home.”