Getting Food Storage Started

[Vicky Hail]

This can be really confusing to me. I have a list of what I should have for a years supply of food, but getting it going really seems to be hard. we don't have the room to put it in in our current home until we find one with a basement or some sort of storage area.

How do you start? I know a little here and a little there, but how do you decide what to work on first? Do two weeks grocery shopping every week and store away one week of it when you can afford to?

[Guest utahmom]

For us, I try to buy two of a few things ... like peanut butter, or canned goods when I run out. I put one in my food storage (with a date on it) and the other I open to use. Then the next time I run out, I do the same thing (so now you have two in food storage) plus one to use except that I put both of the new ones in food storage with dates and open the one from storage. I try to do it with spaghetti sauce, noodles, mac n cheese (I buy the big bulk packages at Costco though) and other boxed or canned items (I love to put soups in my storage, great for emergencies, and you don't need a lot to use them - just a heat source).

I've done a lot of reading on it and love the topic. One of my favorite books that has a step by step guide is called 12 steps to Build Your Own Personal ARK. Its written by Emily Oswald Freeman and the address on teh back of the book says www.ldstapes.com Not sure if it is still available or not. But basically, the book gives you 12 steps that can be done once a month, once every other week, once a week based on your time and money. It will get you all the basics recommended by the First Presidency as well as a few other foods to make cooking easier. It includes A - years supply, R - Required reading and family study and K - keeping the ark afloat. It breaks down what to buy each month and how much, gives you a topic to study and discuss as a family, and another item to add to your storage (like a can opener, a clock etc) so you not only have the food but the other items necessary. I really like the plan, although I've not stuck to it exactly.

Another idea is to use General Conference weekend as a reminder to rotate, check dates, add new, replenish etc your food storage. My sister-in-law taught me this. Every General Conference, between sessions they update their inventory, decide what else to add, and then go to the store. She labels it and puts it all away that night while her husband is at preisthood session. I use that day to add $50-100 to my storage including bottled water, and other stuff.

If you live near a church cannery, take advantage of it. Its great. Make sure you know how to use the items (buy the recipe book they offer, I think it is just $1 or $2), and have the eqiupment to use them (whole wheat isn't helpful in an emergency if you can't grind it) and like them - we don't like the soup, so we have found other kinds of soup to add instead. If you don't live near a cannery, ask your ward or stake preparedness coordinator if the stake owns or shares a home canner and how to go about doing it that way. I've done both here and its really helped me bulk up on some of the basics. I've still got a long way to go though!

And one more idea ... use Christmas as a time to give or buy gifts to help build your supply for your whole family. Last year, we asked my sister-in-law to give us food storage or emergency preparedness stuff. She gave us a 72 hour backpack. Its on our list again this year. You can either choose specific items you want (request the non-food items, people like to give them best, like the can opener, source of heat, blankets, etc). You can also give a emergency backpack to each of your kids!

Hope all that helps!

Donna

[Vicky Hail]

thank you very much. Great ideas

[Guest lt]

I also buy in bulk the things I use allot, I save more that way and I always have it on hand.

Laureltree

YourRelief Society President has a list for a years worth of food, starting out with a few things here and there, you might wanna ask for a copy. If she doesn't have it, I can get it and post it

[Jenda]

Originally posted by LaurelTree@Nov 15 2004, 01:32 PM

I also buy in bulk the things I use allot, I save more that way and I always have it on hand.

Laureltree

YourRelief Society President has a list for a years worth of food, starting out with a few things here and there, you might wanna ask for a copy. If she doesn't have it, I can get it and post it

I would like to see that list, LT.

[Marsha]

Originally posted by LaurelTree@Nov 15 2004, 04:32 PM

I also buy in bulk the things I use allot, I save more that way and I always have it on hand.

Laureltree

YourRelief Society President has a list for a years worth of food, starting out with a few things here and there, you might wanna ask for a copy. If she doesn't have it, I can get it and post it

I would like to have a copy of this as well

[rayhale]

The main thing about food storage is to go slow. Buy a little more than you need so you have extra. Food storage is expensive and takes a lot of space. Be smart and get food that you can make and can be stored for a while, go to the church’s site Provident Living Home it can help you out.

[puf_the_majic_dragon]

When some people think food storage, they envision an oversized cupboard with regular kitchen ingredients. Other people think "staples" and have case upon case of flour (but no eggs or milk to make anything with it). I think "what can I live off of for a year in a camping-type situation". This means compact, portable, and easy to prepare.

My dad is working on a project to incorporate a "72 hour kit" in a #10 can. The idea being something along the lines of 3 days worth of supplies for one person (or 3 people for one day) in a single can. These would be easiliy prepared meals and hygiene items - something like an extended MRE but with better flavor :) The only shortfall I could think of is how do you dispose of all those cans when you're eating through them for a month?

I'd suggest setting aside a portion of every pay check into a seperate checking account dedicated to "emergency preparedness". This money would be used for food storage, emergency blankets, spare batteries, flares, etc. If saved up, you can buy "bulk" and save money. And when I say bulk I mean 50lb bags of hot chocolate - not 50 boxes of serving sized packets.

You can also check auctions in your area where surplus food inventory can often be found for great prices.

[prospectmom]

Start with your 72 hr emergency kit and then go to a two week plan and grow from there..........

[Misshalfway]

I think that it is so easy to get overwhelmed by the prospect of food storage. I mean I see the lists of what people have....extra clothing, fuel, flares, etc. It helped me to go to the church's website and narrow it down to what the church is really asking people to do.

My understanding is that we need a one year supply of staples...such as wheat, beans, oats, and water. Then we need a rotating three month storage that contains foods we eat regularly. Then there is the 72 hour kits and having some money set aside for emergencies.

I loved the calculator on the provident living page so I could see how many pounds of wheat I need for my family for one year. My friend just completed her long term storage and did it for a reasonable amount of money. I think once we get the basic down then we can start adding the extras like fuel and generators and whatever else.

I have completed my 72 hour kits and I splurged and bought a portable toilet seat. I feel so prepared! :) I also have my 3 months completed. I am now working on the long term and water storage. I have added things like toothpaste or TP when I see a good sale. I just found some candles on a deal and I grabbed those. But, I am more focused on getting my 1800 lbs of wheat/beans/rice before anything else. I am getting close. My goal is to have it all completed by the end of this calendar year.

[puf_the_majic_dragon]

The only problem I have with saving up 2000 pounds of wheat or rice is how many people know how to prepare it? If all you have is some buckets of wheat flour, beans, and water, you're going to be eating some pretty miserable meals for that year. And if you get instant rice, the nutritional value is significantly less than normal rice and I'm not sure if it has any additional restrictions on storage.

Perhaps, among all the food we should be storing, we also should think about "food storage recipes" so we can have some creative ways of preparing that mundane bucket of beans - and so the people who don't know how to properly cook raw beans won't be lost when disaster strikes.

[RachelleDrew]

^Exactly puff.

It doesn't do one a lot of good to buy things like barley or wheat when you don't even know how to fix it.

Those things are good to have because they are staples, but you have to research their preparation.

[BenRaines]

Good job Misshalfway.

I would say to the person who says that their house can't hold food storage, find a way. When it comes down to it and you need the food I personally don't care how cluttered the apartment or house looks. I will want food.

Ben Raines

[Misshalfway]

^Exactly puff.

It doesn't do one a lot of good to buy things like barley or wheat when you don't even know how to fix it.

Those things are good to have because they are staples, but you have to research their preparation.

One could educate themselves. Perhaps learn to make a mean loaf of wheat bread. I did. Me....miss anti kitchen! And I gotta tell you it is really good. My loaves don't last long and even my toddlers eat it!!! I also make home made whole wheat pancake mix and it is a snap! A total no brainer! And it ain't hard to cook rice or a bowl of oatmeal.

I will say also that that the newest counsel is to put the things we eat often into the 3 month rotation. It is expensive and difficult to rotate a years supply. I think the brethren want us to have these staples and I am not sure if I can fully predict why. But considering the latest trouble with wheat and rice, I think it might be a good idea.

[BenRaines]

Latest report has extended beyond 30 years most properly stored grains and legumes. Buy it now and in my lifetime it should last. Replace once every 30 years shouldn't be bad.

Ben Raines

[KuriChan]

There are many, many confusing ways to do food storage and everyone has their own ways to simplify it. In general, what is best is a 3 month short-term supply (food that you will eat normally) and a 9 month (if you want a year) long term supply. For reasons I will never understand, most go with wheat and dried beans even though they don't know how to use them (would you buy bullets without owning a gun?). I actually represent a company that specializes in making food storage easy and affordable for families. Send me a message and I would love to help you out.

[faithagain]

One could educate themselves. Perhaps learn to make a mean loaf of wheat bread. I did. Me....miss anti kitchen! And I gotta tell you it is really good. My loaves don't last long and even my toddlers eat it!!! I also make home made whole wheat pancake mix and it is a snap! A total no brainer! And it ain't hard to cook rice or a bowl of oatmeal.

I will say also that that the newest counsel is to put the things we eat often into the 3 month rotation. It is expensive and difficult to rotate a years supply. I think the brethren want us to have these staples and I am not sure if I can fully predict why. But considering the latest trouble with wheat and rice, I think it might be a good idea.

Would you mind sharing some of your recipes for bread?

[amightyfortress]

People should make a beans and rice dish every week. That way, you stay in practice of how to use the items and the family gets use to eating it. Same with bread, grind some grain and make a couple loaves of bread each week (or if you're "lazy" make wholewheat muffins or pancakes--those are alot easier to make than bread).

[amightyfortress]

Another note... if you don't put any sweetener in the pancake batter, you can use two pancakes in place of bread for sandwiches.

[amightyfortress]

ADVICE for anyone who has their food storage already in place...

I'm use to rotating my provisions and I know how to use all the foods I store and incorporate them into my daily living. However, I just spent an entire month living 100% on my food storage just to see what it would be like and to see where I would fall short.

I now know I need more eggs, butter, meat, cheese. Also, beverages. Too much water, too much powdered milk (which I do like) get boring. Even making the milk into cocoa and making homemade lemonade got a bit tiring when you consider you're eating 90 meals in a month (3 meals a day x 30 = 90). And then sometimes you're thirsty between meals. Trust me, water-milk-cocoa-lemonade get boring fast.

There were also days I was either busy or just felt "lazy" and didn't feel like cooking and on those days, ready made meals like Mountain House might have been nice. I don't have any "easy" ready made meals on hand and that needs to change :) Even if I don't go the Mountain House route, ravioli in a can or Chunky soup or something similar would be just as easy.

So once your storage is in place... give it a test run. Better to test yourself now when you have a chance to correct any gaps in your storage... than to find out during an emergency that things aren't quite as pleasant as you thought they'd be.

[AngelaBarbara]

The only problem I have with saving up 2000 pounds of wheat or rice is how many people know how to prepare it? If all you have is some buckets of wheat flour, beans, and water, you're going to be eating some pretty miserable meals for that year. And if you get instant rice, the nutritional value is significantly less than normal rice and I'm not sure if it has any additional restrictions on storage.

Perhaps, among all the food we should be storing, we also should think about "food storage recipes" so we can have some creative ways of preparing that mundane bucket of beans - and so the people who don't know how to properly cook raw beans won't be lost when disaster strikes.

Hi Puf,

There are some really good books out there about how to cook with beans, rice, wheat, and other home storage items. One that emphasizes the freeze dried and dehydrated items is called "Cookin' With Home Storage". Here is a link to a page that has some others: Amazon.com: cooking with grains and beans

I have the "366 ways to cook rice and beans" book, and I really like it.

I chose to store beans and whole grains for a couple of reasons. One, they will keep (depending on the grain or legume) anywhere from 5 to 30 years, assuming proper packaging and storage. Two, they are inexpensive and nutritious items that my family already eats. Three, they are easily made into "one pot" meals, which is important in a situation where fuel and water are scarce. So I am able to store 3 years' worth and rotate it. That is what I'm doing. I am lucky enough to have a basement; we planned that when we built the house. So I have a ton of storage space. I don't really have any advice for those who want to store a years' worth and have a large family. Just do the best with what you have, I guess. Try to store items that pack the most nutrition and calories into the least amount of space. Out with the chips, packaged breakfast cereal, and cheesy poofs! In with beans, grains, and dehydrated veggies!

In addition to the "storage" food, we also have stored 1 years' worth of "regular" canned stuff like beans, tomatoes, veggies, etc. My family already eats this stuff, so whether it comes in a convenient can or has to be soaked to rehydrate it doesn't really matter to anyone but me, who prepares it.

I also recommend storing good flavoring ingredients like Kitchen Bouquet, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, and Liquid Smoke. This stuff keeps darned near forever, so don't worry if you aren't rotating it as often as you "should."

I also have plenty of sweeteners on hand: Granulated sugar, some brown sugar (less, because it gets hard as a rock if you store it for too long, even under "ideal" conditions) molasses, and honey.

If you plan to store whole grains, get a wheat grinder. The one I bought is called the Family Grain Mill, (from Pleasant Hill Grain) and it has a hand base and a motorized base. So I can use the same machine even if the power is out. I choose not to store flour (although I do have some on hand in the kitchen for everyday use) because whole wheat flour just doesn't keep very well. So I grind it as I need it.

Okay, okay...I can see some of you cringing out there... It doesn't take as long as you think to grind wheat, and I have a breadmaker, so at least THAT saves me a lot of time!

Yes, the whole process can be overwhelming. But you don't have to do it all at once, so take a deep breath and store a weeks' worth. Then store another weeks' worth. Buy a bucket of wheat here and there IF you know how to use it and your family will eat it. Buy a balance of things; it doesn't do you much good to go out an buy 1000 pounds of wheat if you don't have any yeast, sugar, or salt stored. Buy a little fat, a little protein, a little sugar. Involve the kids. Make it fun. Start introducing some new recipes made with your storage food. You could have a "storage dinner" out in the garage with a campstove, some storage food, and your lantern. Make it a fun adventure, and they'll buy in!

For your eating pleasure, here is a good "storage food" recipe that is quick and easy. I promise you will love, love, love it!

New England Clam Chowder

12 oz can of evaporated milk

11 oz can of creamed corn

11 oz can of regular corn

1/2 c dehydrated bacon bits

1 can chopped or minced clams

1/4 c dehydrated onion, rehydrated

1/4 c dehydrated red pepper, rehydrated (the veggie, not the spice)

1 c dehydrated potato dices, rehydrated

1/4 c canned butter

salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and dill to taste.

Saute the onion and red pepper in the butter until softened. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large pot or crockpot until the potatoes are soft. A smaller cut on the potatoes makes them cook faster.

Yum! Try it and tell me if you like it!

[AngelaBarbara]

ADVICE for anyone who has their food storage already in place...

I'm use to rotating my provisions and I know how to use all the foods I store and incorporate them into my daily living. However, I just spent an entire month living 100% on my food storage just to see what it would be like and to see where I would fall short.

I now know I need more eggs, butter, meat, cheese. Also, beverages. Too much water, too much powdered milk (which I do like) get boring. Even making the milk into cocoa and making homemade lemonade got a bit tiring when you consider you're eating 90 meals in a month (3 meals a day x 30 = 90). And then sometimes you're thirsty between meals. Trust me, water-milk-cocoa-lemonade get boring fast.

There were also days I was either busy or just felt "lazy" and didn't feel like cooking and on those days, ready made meals like Mountain House might have been nice. I don't have any "easy" ready made meals on hand and that needs to change :) Even if I don't go the Mountain House route, ravioli in a can or Chunky soup or something similar would be just as easy.

So once your storage is in place... give it a test run. Better to test yourself now when you have a chance to correct any gaps in your storage... than to find out during an emergency that things aren't quite as pleasant as you thought they'd be.

That is very good advice! I have stored (and I rotate) things like herb tea and cocoa. I have about 10 different varieties of herbal tea like peppermint, licorice, etc. It doesn't have caffeine, so it is LDS friendly! One could also store things like Tang. We don't eat this, but I think I'm going to stock some "just in case."

We do have some Mountain House ready-made meals stored, for the reasons that you mentioned. They're a little pricey, but they may be worth it if you get tired of cooking and preparing storage food. I think I'll take your advice, Fortress, and stock up on some canned beef stews!

Just a question...do you store mostly powered cheese, or did you get some of the canned stuff? I tried the canned, and it's not bad, but I don't think I'd want to incorporate it into my "regular" diet. A little "plastic-y". Imagine Velveeta in can! It was also pretty expensive. I also got some canned butter -- it's made for people who live in the Aussie outback or in the middle east where refrigeration is not so available. After I try it, I'll give you a full report!

[amightyfortress]

I have powdered cheese (the kind similar to what comes with macaroni and cheese). I also buy Aldi brand "Velveeta" in a box which you can only open if you have refrigeration afterwards. In a no-electric situation, I'd use the powder... with a cold storage space, the boxed cheese will work.

[SuperSizedAngel]

I have powdered cheese (the kind similar to what comes with macaroni and cheese). I also buy Aldi brand "Velveeta" in a box which you can only open if you have refrigeration afterwards. In a no-electric situation, I'd use the powder... with a cold storage space, the boxed cheese will work.

My mom used to store that cheese stuff and let me tell you!! All you need is some whole milk and some tortilla chips and you have nachos! I mastered that one whilst babysitting my siblings and looking for a late night munch!

[AngelaBarbara]

That sounds yummy! Do you have a recipe to share? I'd love to have some ideas/ratios!:)