A Year Supply of Food

You Can Do It!

                                                       Submitted by:  Nanette Neeley

 

 

 The following is just some of the great information available at providentliving.org.

 

“Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others.

“We encourage members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.

“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.”

What is the most important thing I can do regarding family home storage?

Get started!  If you have already begun, faithfully continue your efforts. As Bishop H. David Burton taught: “This new program is within everyone’s grasp. The first step is to begin. The second is to continue. It doesn’t matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities.”

Where do I start?

Start by adding a few storable items that you typically eat, storing some water that is safe to drink, and saving some money, if only a few coins each week. Then, over time, expand these initial efforts—as individual circumstances allow and where permitted—by storing a longer-term supply of basics such as grains, beans, and other staples.

Three-Month Supply

Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.

 

Longer-Term Food Supply

For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans.

These items can last 30 years or more when properly packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. A portion of these items may be rotated in your three-month supply.

 
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
 

The following suggested amounts are for one adult.

QUANTITY FOR      RECOMMENDED  PRODUCTS    LONG-TERM STORAGE LIFE
ONE MONTH           

11.5 kg./25 lbs.           Wheat, white rice, corn and other     30 + years
                                     grains

2.5 kg./5 lbs.                Dry beans                                          30 + years

You may also want to add other items to your longer-term storage such as sugar, nonfat dry milk, salt, baking soda, and cooking oil. To meet nutritional needs, also store foods containing vitamin C and other essential nutrients.

Packaging Recommendations

Recommended containers for longer-term storage include the following: 

·         #10 cans (available in the U.S. and Canada at Church home storage centers)

·         Foil pouches (available through Church Distribution Services)

·         PETE bottles (for dry products such as wheat, corn, and beans)

These containers, used with oxygen absorber packets, eliminate food-borne insects and help preserve nutritional quality and taste. Oxygen absorber packets are available online at store.lds.org.

Under certain conditions, you can also use plastic buckets for longer-term storage of wheat, dry beans, and other dry products.

 

Foods Lasting 30 Years or More

Properly packaged, low-moisture foods stored at room temperature or cooler (24°C/75°F or lower) remain nutritious and edible much longer than previously thought, according to findings of recent scientific studies. Estimated shelf life for many products has increased to 30 years or more (see chart below for new estimates of shelf life).

Previous estimates of longevity were based on “best-if-used-by” recommendations and experience. Though not studied, sugar, salt, baking soda (essential for soaking beans), and vitamin C in tablet form also store well long-term. Some basic foods do need more frequent rotation, such as vegetable oil every 1 to 2 years.

While there is a decline in nutritional quality and taste over time, depending on the original quality of food and how it was processed, packaged, and stored, the studies show that even after being stored long-term, the food will help sustain life in an emergency.

For tips on how to best preserve longer-term food storage products, see Longer-Term Food Supply.

FOOD	NEW “LIFE-SUSTAINING” SHELF-LIFE ESTIMATES (IN YEARS)
Wheat	30+
White rice	30+
Corn	30+
Sugar	30+
Pinto beans	30
Rolled oats	30
Pasta	30
Potato flakes	30
Apple slices	30
Non-fat powdered milk	20
Dehydrated carrots	20

 

On providentliving.org, you can find information on how to safely store long term food items,  purchase food items from the online store, find the closest church home storage center and see the latest family home storage center products/prices.

Other good sources for long term food storage items are:  Honeyville Farms (honeyvillefarms.net, located in Rancho Cucamonga), Major Surplus & Survival (majorsurplus.com, located in Gardena), foodstorage.net, Emergency Essentials (in Utah), Costo, Winco.

72 Hour Emergency Food Supply For One

(Fits in one large empty plastic jar used for pretzels, cookies, etc.)

Day 1

Breakfast         2 granola bars, 1 pkg. instant hot cider

Lunch              1 pkg. Lipton noodle soup, 1fruit snack or roll, 1 pkg. crackers

Dinner             1 foil pkg. tuna, 1pkg. ramen noodles, 7 small candies, 1pkg. hot chocolate

Snacks             1 pkg. trail mix or nuts

 

Day 2

Breakfast         1 pkg. instant oatmeal, 1pkg raisins (or fruit snack/roll), 1 pkg. instant hot cider

Lunch              2 pieces of beef jerky or beef sticks, 2 pkgs. crackers, 1applesauce cup, 7 candies

Dinner             1 pkg. ramen noodles, 1 foil pkg. salmon or tuna, 1 fruit snack, 1 pudding cup

Snacks             1 granola bar, 1pkg. crackers, hot chocolate

 

Day 3

Breakfast         1 pkg. instant oatmeal, 1 fruit snack/roll, 1 pkg. instant hot cider

Lunch              2 pkg. crackers with peanut butter, 1 applesauce cup, 1 granola bar, 7 candies

Dinner             1 pkg. Lipton noodle soup, 1 pkg. trail mix, 1 pudding cup, 1 pkg. hot chocolate

Snacks             1 granola bar, 1fruit snack,

 

*Store with container:  2 liters water per day, plastic utensils, garbage bag, small pot to heat water, cup   **ONE YEAR ROTATION

This quote is from the Utah State University Extension Center.

 

"Commercially canned foods should retain their best quality until the expiration code date on the can. This date is usually 2-5 years from the manufacture date .High acid foods usually have a shorter shelf life than low acid foods. For emergency storage, commercially canned foods in metal or jars will remain safe to consume as long as the seal has not been broken."

The Canned Food Alliance also shares this view that canned foods are safe to eat as long as the can is not damaged in any way. They will lose nutritional value but are safe to eat. With this information, and the knowledge that most of the foods from the cannery will last 20 and 30 years, food storage and it's rotation have become much easier for everyone.

 

There is great information online. Try searching lds food storage on Pinterest for some great ideas. The following is from an excellent blog from preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com:

“Let's start at the very beginning with food storage. Many of you become overwhelmed with food storage because you want to eat the whole elephant. However, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So start small, be smart and pace yourself. If my family started all over again, this is what I would do:

 

1.    WATER: Begin with stocking up on a 14 day supply of drinking water. You can add more later.

2.     72-HOUR-KIT:  Also, put together a 72-hour kit for each member of the family, and a binder
         or small safe to store emergency documents in case you need to evacuate.

3.     START AN EMERGENCY FUND by putting aside a little money each week. It doesn't have
        to be large. Try $2.00 per person or some other amount you could afford.

4.     GATHER a 3-Month Supply of Shelf-Stable Foods You Eat - create some menus of shelf-         stable foods you can incorporate into your diet. This supply will help you if you were  unemployed, had a longer-than-72-hour-disaster, etc. A portion of your supply could include a 2-week to 1-month supply of easy to prepare foods you can heat up easily without electricity. But these foods could also be items you regularly cook with. Don't get hung up on perfection. I know I talk about menus, but in a disaster I would eat a can of soup and some crackers for a meal. However, if my husband were unemployed we would eat lots of cold cereal and cook more from scratch, but still be able to buy milk.

5.            MAKE AN INVENTORY of what you have on hand. Perhaps count a portion of your        stock pile every week like I do. You shop every week at the grocery store anyway, so you probably look at your food storage or other supplies regularly. Decide how much of each item to store. I want 30 boxes of cereal and you might want 6 because you live in a one-bedroom apartment. That's great! We are each keeping food storage. If you can't figure out how much, use the 3-month Food Storage Plan as a starting place. Or my monthly shopping lists on the right sidebar of my blog. You will be amazed at what you can do, and already have. As you put aside food in your 3-month supply, don't eat it all up in three months. Buy 1 can to eat now, and put aside 2 cans for later. Move items that won't fit in your kitchen to another cupboard or closet or basement. Eventually you will build a supply. It's like taking a few steps forward and one step back. You are still moving forward!

6.            GATHER LONG-TERM FOODS (20 to 30 year shelf life) - After you've done all the things above, work on this supply. Once or twice a year buy and can/bucket these items in bulk. I don't recommend buying them all at once because then they will have the same shelf life. Buy smart. Buy what you can afford and don't go into debt. There are many companies that want you to buy this kind of food all at once. Be careful. Learn to use these foods in your regular diet so it won't be a shock to your system when you do use them. Maybe start with 6 cans of the long-term staples. For some of you, these foods would be what-you-would-eat-if-you-had-nothing-else-to-eat. For us, we would be familiar with most of them because we use them regularly. Just so you know, we are a semi-homemade food storage family. Not a 100% only food storage family. We still eat fresh and frozen foods, but also canned and packaged foods so that our items get used or rotated. 

7.            SEE IT, AND EAT IT: Keep a small supply of each food item in your kitchen, and store a larger supply in your basement, under beds, or in a closet, but not in the garage. The garage is a great place to store paper goods and possibly sugar, but not canned foods as the fluctuating temperatures will  shorten the shelf life of your foods. So be careful. Ask someone in the food industry where they would store food.

Suggested Amounts of  Basic Foods for Home Storage  (if you do not have anything else to eat)  PER ADULT FOR ONE YEAR.

Grains:                400 lbs.  (wheat, flour, corn, oatmeal, pasta)

Legumes:              60 lbs.  (dry beans, split peas, lentils, etc.)

Powdered Milk:    16 lbs.

Cooking Oil:         10 qts.

Sugar or Honey:    60 lbs.

Salt:                         8 lbs.

Water: (2 weeks):  14 gallons

 

Container Sizes:

 

Item:  Wheat, Beans, Rice, Sugar

1 gallon container will hold 7 lbs.

5 gallon container will hold 35 lbs.

 

Item:  Powdered Milk, Flour

1 gallon container will hold 5 lbs.

5 gallon container will hold 25 lbs.

 

Item:  Oats, Potato Flakes

1 gallon container will hold 3 lbs.

5 gallon container will hold 15 lbs.

 

 

“Remember, one bite at a time.”  Valerie Albrechtsen 

 

One Year Supply of Food—You Can Do It!