Planning smart for your food supply
The world we live in today is fast moving, ever changing and full of surprises. On top of this, there has never been a time when the average family has had less food in their homes than now. A hundred years ago, people generally didn’t go to the store very often. As a rule, America was much more agrarian than it is today, with people growing the majority of the plants and animals they ate. Today, many of us would be at our rope’s end after just a couple of days of not being able to go to the grocery store. Listed below are some of the things that have happened within the last couple of years to break up a normal family’s food supply channels:
 | Loss of employment
| Strikes
| Fire
| Floods
| Droughts
| Hurricanes
| Wind Storms
| Earthquakes
| Civil unrest
| Major injury or death of the prime wage earner | |
So why not be ready for it? If you were the mayor of a small town during a time of disaster, wouldn’t it be a great relief if 1/2 of the inhabitants of your town had a three day supply of emergency supplies. A month supply? And wouldn’t it be great to know not only you, but all the neighbors on your street had an emergency supply of food and other items? One thing is for sure: When an actual emergency arises, the time of preparation is past. One of the greatest advantages that can come to you from this type of preparation is peace of mind.
FEMA suggests at least a three day supply. The rationale is that in the event of a disaster it will take at least three days for emergency personnel to get things going again. In case you must leave your dwelling it needs to be already together and transportable. It’s referred to as a '72 hour kit.' You should have at least three days worth of anything and everything you might need in the worst of conditions.
Somewhat on the other end of the spectrum is the LDS Church who believes strongly in self reliance. Spencer W. Kimball, one of the deceased presidents of this church said, "No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family's well-being to someone else... Maintain a year's supply. The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year's supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days... I am not howling calamity, but I fear that a great majority of our young people, never having known calamity, depression, hunger, homelessness, joblessness, cannot conceive of such situations..."
Whatever you choose to believe, it is a good idea to put something away for ‘that rainy day,’ as President Kimball called it.
| Rule 1: Store what you eat, and eat what you store. It would be too bad to have a supply of food you would only eat with the greatest reluctance. Also, you can spend a lot of money on a supply of food and other provisions now, but after 15 or 20 years it won’t be much good anymore. Which brings us to the second rule.
| Rule #2: Rotate your food supply. Eat the old and replace with new food. It’s great on the pocket book. Large amounts can be purchased when they are on sale, then used when they are not. This may also require you to change your eating habits just a bit - like eating more whole grain and legume foods that are inexpensive but nutritious. But whatever you choose to store, be sure it's something you can eat or it will never get rotated.
| Rule #3: Whatever you store, insure it is as nutritious as possible with the 50 essential elements required for good health. You should also consider storing a good mineral/vitamin supplement.
| Rule #4: Special care should be taken in
preserving your emergency supply, especially if you plan on storing it for several years. Generally, if you plan on using it up within a year it should be safe to store your dry grains and beans in the paper or plastic bags it came in. But if you do this, be sure you have a cool, dry place to keep it. Bugs are always a serious concern. If you haven't bug proofed your food you need to check it every few weeks to insure it stays insect free. Aside from packing up your own dry goods, you can also... |
(We have also put together a spreadsheet that will be a great help here.) (And here's another nifty one from Brain Brawl Challenge (Zipped Excel inventory spreadsheet. Keep track of your food storage by Glenn Anderson.)
Foods & other items I've noticed the program doesn't address and you will have to determine manually:
Spencer W. Kimball |