The LDS Church's stance on food storage has been adjusted in the past few years. Their recommendations can be found on the Provident Living Website. The focus has changed to families having a three month supply of food within the home, bare minimum.
Personally this is less intimidating than having a full year of food storage, especially in the limited amount of space in my apartment. But still, three months is a lot of food and it takes a lot planning.
How have you approached this HUGE challenge?
What meals do you have included in your three month plan?
How are you organizing and rotating your supply?
There are a few blogs that I have found to be helpful as I ponder these questions.
I have found Blog Totally Ready to have a lot of helpful information. The host has posted, since January 08, every week a break down of "Seven Steps" to take each week to gather your 72 hour and three month supply as well as make various other preparations around your home. Some of these steps are so simple, especially when broken down. She really opens up you eyes to things that would be helpful in being prepared for an emergency. A lot of information and advice to be had on her site.
Another blog that my mother pointed out to me is Everyday Food Storage. This gal focuses on how to make using your food storage a part of everyday life. She has many recipes and demonstrations.
Food Storage Made Easy is a website that has taken steps to break down the food storage process and make it more manageable while educating you on the hows and whys. They have a spread sheet available for download to help you plan and calculate your three month supply.
Lastly, the website Simply Living Smart seems to have a plethora of information (much of which I haven't digested yet). They also break the process down and help you understand what you need to do and why.
Now are you like me and feel like a deer in the headlights?
I'm really feeling the need and the pressure to get this all started (and done).
Any suggestions, feelings, experiences, words of encouragement, etc would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, also I'm in the market for a WHEAT GRINDER. What kind do you use? Do you love it; any problems; how often do you use it; etc?
3 comments:
Man. Food storage is hard. I guess I just pick up extra of what we need and figure that God will bless me in my efforts. Honestly, I often find that I am inspired at the grocery store--I'll think, "Hmm . . .I think I'm low on black beans." Then when I wander over there black beans are on sale! I also remind myself that this is food to survive on not food to throw fabulous parties on. That makes it easier to just focus on the basics. Good luck! I'll have to check out all the links in your post :)Oh, and I have no idea about a wheat grinder. We need one too . . .
I have a whisper mill. It's probably about 10 years old. But I love it and I use it often.They are fairly expensive (about $200+). But if you make bread or Cran Crazy cookies it is great. I rarely make white bread anymore. But I still use white flour when i make rolls. The Bosch store here sells great wheat grinders. I thought about getting them for people for christmas. Maybe if I bought 5 they would give me a deal. But I don't know if anyone else wants them.
I have a couple of suggestions that I hope are useful. They have wheat grinders at stores like Bosch that can be either an electric grinder or a manual grinder. I don't need to go on about how great that is. As for food storage, I like to have things in mine that I know we will actually eat! Of course I have stocked up on grains and sugar, but I really like to have simple, every day foods on hand as well. Every time a store, such as Albertsons, has a big sale I will go and spend $10 or $15. I try to rotate through my food storage frequently and just add a little each week. Then it isn't quite as intimidating. Finally, my suggestion about WHERE to store your food with limited space is a throwback to the good old college days. Using cinder blocks to add space under your bed, and perhaps the boys' beds, might give you just enough space to store some of your foods. I think it is an ongoing process that we refine as our circumstances change and our families grow. I am sure that you will find solutions that work for your family at this time.
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