Why should I store food. (Baa Humbug)


WyomingEMT
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm serious, why are we storing food in our basements and closet. We throw away alot of food, and we just finished throwing away hundreds of pounds of weevil infested wheat, and rice, and cases and cases of 40 year old canned food. My mom and dad prepared and did'nt need it. Why bother?

That's not how I store food. I store food like I have a revolving grocery store. I only store stuff we eat. So, we eat off our food storage and buy grocery to replenish our storage. Make sense? No, I don't have oodles of cans of wheat - I don't even know what to do with wheat! I do have 100 lbs of rice. We eat rice a lot, so we would buy 25 lb bags at a time to put into storage as we continue to eat rice from the oldest 25 lb bag in the storage. We eat spam a lot - so we eat off the oldest can of spam while buying new spam to replenish storage. Same for corned beef, vienna sausage, canned chicken (kinda like tuna), tuna, Bush beans, cans of soup, etc. We do the same for our water. We use our oldest food storage water to top off the aquariums and to water indoor plants and replenish it with fresh water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Food storage is really good for people who like to eat even in bad times. ^^ Anatess has the idea on how to store food. Rotate! Who wants 40 year old food? Not me. I think I would rather eat fresh boiled grass. (grass has bugs on it!)

Stored food is really good if you are short of money even for a few days. Theres lots of good reasons to have storage and not many good ones for not storing food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm serious, why are we storing food in our basements and closet. We throw away alot of food, and we just finished throwing away hundreds of pounds of weevil infested wheat, and rice, and cases and cases of 40 year old canned food. My mom and dad prepared and did'nt need it. Why bother?

The simple answer to your subject line is: So you can eat.

Obviously your parents didn't rotate the food. If the wheat got weavils it wasn't stored correctly. I have wheat that my parents sealed 40 years ago. Its still good. As soon as I get a wheat grinder I will rotate it.

It doesn't make any sense to store food you're not going to eat. The solution is to store food you eat every day/week/month. Rotate. Rotate. Rotate.

Another reason we store food is because we have been warned and told my our GAs to store food.

Another reason...it does save money.

Another reason... There have been several times when we wouldn't have eaten if we didn't have some food storage. Times when my husband was between jobs. Or winter when he's worked construction and there hasn't been winter work. Or when he took a $20,000 cut in pay.

There are many reasons to store food. Again... the simplest is so you can eat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the last 10 years, I've been unemployed twice, each for about 6 months. My food storage was a great blessing during that time, as I did not have to worry about food prices or budgeting for food. We ate well during those times of unemployment.

When I moved from Alabama to Indiana, we had a family in our ward in Montgomery that had 12 kids and were financially struggling, because the military moved them, but after a year, they were not able to sell their home in Utah. We gave them a large chunk of our storage at that time, enough to get them through a winter for their large family. It was a blessing we could not have done otherwise.

I know of some who have gone through natural disasters, etc., who used their storage to help others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a lot of food storage. A lot. lol. We do not, however, have thousands of pounds of products that we'd never eat. We only store what we eat. And I make sure that we eat what we store.

Our most recent experience that made us really glad for food storage occurred when my (adult, living on his own) son lost his job for almost six months. While he was scrambling to find another job, the unemployment check that he received just barely covered his mortgage. Our financial situation (missionary in the field) wouldn't really allow us to provide funds to help him out. The food storage came to the rescue when he came about once a week and 'shopped' in my storage room instead of going to the grocery.

That said, I'm not really sure that the guidelines concerning food storage are really just about the food. I know that for our family, the goal of storing food has caused us to learn a lot of new skills. We have a huge garden that produces enough fresh food during the summer months for fourteen people. We also bottle, freeze and dry hundreds of pounds of fruit and vegetables to go into storage. I've learned how to prepare and save seed and also manage a not-very-big food budget so that it stretches to include storage items.

And the last thought to this novel (lol!) is that I think that storing food is about obedience. We're not always taught they 'whys' of commandments, just the 'to-do's'. Many might presume that a commandment to store food is about needing the food later. Maybe it's about showing obedience to every commandment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm serious, why are we storing food in our basements and closet. We throw away alot of food, and we just finished throwing away hundreds of pounds of weevil infested wheat, and rice, and cases and cases of 40 year old canned food. My mom and dad prepared and did'nt need it. Why bother?

Have you considered the possibility that the very act of having your food storage on hand actually might be serving as a protective shield, causing the Lord to turn away events and situations which might be harmful to you and your family? Consider this observation made by President James E. Faust:

Some have said, "We have followed this counsel in the past and have never had need to use our year's supply, so we have difficulty keeping this in mind as a major priority." Perhaps following this counsel could be the reason why they have not needed to use their reserve (Ensign, May 1986, p. 22).

President Benson, from his talk Prepare for the Days of Tribulation, which was printed in the November 1980 Ensign:

"The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah"

"Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.

"The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?"

"Our bishops' storehouses are not intended to stock enough commodities to care for all the members of the Church. Storehouses are only established to care for the poor and the needy. For this reason, members of the Church have been instructed to personally store a year's supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. By following this counsel, most members will be prepared and able to care for themselves and their family members, and be able to share with others as may be needed" (Ezra Taft Benson, "Ministering to Needs through the Lord's Storehouse System," Ensign, May 1977, 82).

The Church cannot be expected to provide for every one of its millions of members in case of public or personal disaster. --James E. Faust

Link to comment
Share on other sites

President Spencer W. Kimball gave us this counsel regarding home storage:

“We reaffirm the previous counsel the Church has always given, to acquire and maintain a year’s supply—a year’s supply of the basic commodities for us. …

“We encourage families to have on hand this year’s supply; and we say it over and over and over and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where He says, ‘Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’ [Luke 6:46]” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1976, 171; or Ensign, May 1976, 125).

Basically one of the reasons we do this is because we've been commanded to by the Lord. Do you think the Lord would ask us to do something unwise?

You're right Wyoming that they wouldn't want to just watch you starve and as long as their was extra they would give it to others. Yet you assume that there will be extra. If you only had enough for yourself and your own family and a beggar came to your door, even though it would be with tears in your eyes you'd probably say, "I'm sorry, I have nothing to give".

I recently acquired the minimum amount of food to sustain my life for one year. I did it out of obedience. May I ever need it? We can always hope not right? Either way, I can testify that the Lord let me know he was pleased that I had obeyed and that's good enough for me.

I feel it's a lot like the tithing concern where individuals state they could do a lot more with that 10% than the Lord. My faith is that the Lord can do a lot more with you in blessing your life and keeping you safe if you obey his commandment in this than you could ever do with the money you'd use elsewhere.

Ultimately it comes down to this: Do you trust the Lord enough to obey?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What if I don't store alot of food, and that 7 years of famine hits. I've been a good member of my ward, they can't just watch me starve. I could do alot with that money that would go into food that will probably just go to waste anyway.

Wyoming, this is a sad comment. It's like you think the food will just appear in the ward coffers by magic when famine hits. You are basically saying - I don't have to prepare because somebody else is preparing for me. I feel bad for all the other faithful members in your ward who are doing away with all the other better things money could buy just so they can save up some food that they will have to give to you because they can't just watch you starve.

Food storage only goes to waste if you don't bother to figure out how to do it properly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For members like Wyoming who do not prepare, but end up with lots of nice toys instead. I'll be glad to help them. But not for free. At that time, I will gladly trade them food storage for the price of an IPad, XBox, property, etc. I will only give freely to those who are truly poor, not of their own choice.

If Wyoming doesn't wish to trade, then I'll just watch him starve. I've gone without lots of goodies now, ensuring I have my storage and some extra to trade for difficult times. If he wishes to be the Virgin with no oil, it does not mean I have to suffer because he didn't prepare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What if I don't store alot of food, and that 7 years of famine hits. I've been a good member of my ward, they can't just watch me starve. I could do alot with that money that would go into food that will probably just go to waste anyway.

That's a very selfish attitude.

Your comments brought this scripture to mind.

2 Nephi 28:7

Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Food storage only goes to waste if you don't bother to figure out how to do it properly.

That was my first thought on reading the OP. The presented scenario is why you properly store and rotate food storage, not why you just don't bother. As presented the OP reads like "Why bother rotating your tires? I rotated my tires after 20,000 miles and there was still uneven wear! "

Edited by Dravin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a member of LDS but I am a member of the church of common sense. I store food and am on this and other LDS websites because I do not want to go hungry nor to depend on someone's charity to stay alive. Rice and wheat properly stored will remain good for 25-30 years. I am old enough that I will never live long enough to see that date but my son will. My storage food, which is all dated, will be passed on to him when I go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a member of LDS but I am a member of the church of common sense. I store food and am on this and other LDS websites because I do not want to go hungry nor to depend on someone's charity to stay alive. Rice and wheat properly stored will remain good for 25-30 years. I am old enough that I will never live long enough to see that date but my son will. My storage food, which is all dated, will be passed on to him when I go.

Don't be too quick on that - you could live to be as old as Rebecca Lanier (119 years and counting!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, OK... I'll buy a case of chicken soup and a case of peanut butter. Our emergency preparedness guy in the ward said just start adding a few cans of what ever you like and pretty soon I would have a three month supply. I've seen the light, maybe I should store some extra batteries, what do you think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, OK... I'll buy a case of chicken soup and a case of peanut butter. Our emergency preparedness guy in the ward said just start adding a few cans of what ever you like and pretty soon I would have a three month supply. I've seen the light, maybe I should store some extra batteries, what do you think?

Batteries are a good idea, just keep in mind they'll also need to be properly stored and rotation over a long period is needed (they'll slowly become less effective over time).

Edited by Dravin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, OK... I'll buy a case of chicken soup and a case of peanut butter. Our emergency preparedness guy in the ward said just start adding a few cans of what ever you like and pretty soon I would have a three month supply. I've seen the light, maybe I should store some extra batteries, what do you think?

Ramen is pretty cheap and if kept well sealed in a cool, dry place can last through the Second Coming. :D We buy these guys by the case... and my kids eat them by the case as well, so it rotates pretty fast in my house.

And... if those soup cans are not the pop-up kind, you'll need to add a can opener to your storage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the Church's view of food stamps? Should one eat through their food storage and then apply for stamps? Should one apply for stamps, saving their storage? I know that food storage is to get you through hard times, but considering that some mature workers have been unemployed for 2 years now, I'm curious as to what the Church thinks about dealing with a long term problem such as this? Maybe you could eat half the storage, and then apply for stamps, so there would be something left in case you have to get off of food stamps? Just curious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share