Be Prepared

Maybe it's because we are approaching Hurricane Season, our friends have had some interesting experiences or maybe just because the Prophet has advised us to, but whatever the reason is we are getting our Food Storage together. Jared and I have had a very strong impression this year that now is the time for us to really be prepared for a disaster situation. It's something that we have been kicking around (for a year now) and we have finally decided to prioritize it.

Now, when I think of Food Storage I think of this...

boring, out dated, and for Grandma's (so sorry to all my Grandma's or parents who are now Grandma's which I guess includes Dad cause apparently Macy calls him Grandma sometimes) :)

I have recently learned that I too can be boring, out dated and someday I will be a Grandma so I'm totally qualified to can some food and be prepared. Hooray! Applause!

Last night, Jared and I were fortunate enough to attend an activity about a simple yet delicious way to not only build your year supply but also make one that your family would enjoy. The idea/program "Everything Under the Sun" was created by Wendy DeWitt who has been involved in teaching food storage for many years. This system answers that question right down to the last teaspoon of salt. You choose 7 breakfasts and 7 dinners that you would want to have once a week for one year. There are 52 weeks in the year, you’re having this meal once a week, so you’ll have it 52 times. Make these meals things that you eat all the time, things that you like! You are going to multiply everything (including the amount of water) in each of your recipes by 52. An example would be if you used 1 jar of Ragu and 1 pound of spaghetti to feed your family, you’d buy 52 jars of Ragu, 52 pounds of spaghetti and include the water to cook the noodles. My spaghetti has a couple more ingredients to it but the whole program is based on a worse case scenario. You will eat it or you will starve. You then do the same with 6 other meals. At the activity, we watched a wonderful video of Wendy DeWitt giving her presentation and we were given a 24 paged book of everything she talked about. She goes into canning and pressure cooking which at first I was thinking BORING, but for me that was the most exciting thing to hear and I can't wait to get a Pressure Cooker/Canner so we can can some meat! I am getting a copy of the DVD and have the PDF file of the book on my computer so if you are interested in this program to help you get started please leave me a comment with your email address and I will email you the PDF file. If you would also like a copy of the DVD let me know and I will get you a copy.

I can't tell you how many people we have talked to who have had "a strong feeling" that they should get their food storage in order. Living in a place where we have seen "disasters" up close and know that we could very easily be in a disaster, I want to make sure my family is taken care of. So if I haven't scared you or encouraged you enough to get some kind of yearly supply organized for your family give me a holler and I'll try some more. Please don’t put your family at risk by assuming that you will be eating someone else’s food! No one else is storing food for your family. Your neighbors aren’t, the government isn’t and the church isn’t. I know it can be pricey to try and get it all in one day but try to spread out your purchases.

Bottom line is do what you can.

"We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve."—The First Presidency

Here is Wendy's little introduction to the book...
"What’s for dinner?" is an age old question. But in times of crisis, that question becomes even more important. Experience has shown that when people are in emergency situations, food and water become the focus of everyone’s attention. But it doesn’t take a natural disaster to need food storage. Personal economic disasters happen every day in this country. Food storage can be life saving in many different situations.

We all have questions and concerns about food storage. What should I buy? What will it cost? Where do I store it? How do I cook it? What about rotation? There are hundreds of answers to these questions and the following information isn’t right or wrong, it’s just the way I do it.

Most of the recipes in previous versions of this book were "made from scratch" recipes. This version includes a "user friendly" section for meals that are more easily prepared. These recipes have been given only to show you the kind of things can be stored and how to cook them in a solar oven. Your family will appreciate it if you use your own favorite recipes.

Other Food Storage Help:

http://www.providentliving.org/channel/1,11677,1706-1,00.html

http://www.providentliving.org/content/list/0,11664,7448-1,00.html