Food Storage...Use It or Lose It
By Debbie Kent
peaceofpreparedness.com
Why store food?
“If an earthquake, hurricane, winter storm, or other disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, and electricity for days or even weeks. By taking some time now to store emergency food and water supplies, you can provide for your entire family.” FEMA and Red Cross
“Every father and mother are the family's store keepers. They should store whatever their family would like to have in the case of an emergency.” James E. Faust (April 1986)
“For over 100 years we have been admonished to store up grain. “Remember the counsel that is given,” said Elder Orson Hyde, “ ‘… Store up all your grain, and take care of it! … I tell you it is almost as necessary to have bread to sustain the body as it is to have food for the spirit; for the one is as necessary as the other to enable us to carry on the work of God upon the earth.”
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, p. 17 Quote: L. Tom Perry Nov. 1995 “I believe it is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness. …With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness. We are not in a situation that requires panic buying but the instability in the world today makes it imperative that we take heed of this counsel and prepare for the future.”
NEW Food Storage Plan
August 2007 Ensign “Are You Prepared? or
“Prepare Every Needful Thing” providentliving.org
Why the Change? I think because too many families had virtually nothing stored.
“Brethren, I wish to urge again the importance of self-reliance on the part of every individual Church member and family. None of us knows when a catastrophe might strike…the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes … Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary. I do not predict any impending disaster. I hope that there will not be one. But prudence should govern our lives…We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. As all of you recognize, this counsel is not new. But I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.”
(Pres. Hinckley, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear” Oct “05, Priesthood)
3 Month Supply – Open and Eat, normal food (these must be rotated)
“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.” providentliving.org
 Things you regularly eat but not fresh/frozen: ( may have no power, no shopping)
 Think SOS: Simple (sick or busy); One Pot (less dishes); Storable (less rotating)
 GOAL: 3 Month Supply of Meals: breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners (1 filling meal per day)
 What you would like to eat in a time of stress. (comfort foods)
 VARIETY- No one likes eating the same thing over and over (menu planning)
To Do this: Make a list of meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks for 30 days then x3 for 90 days.
If you will eat once a week, multiply ingredients by 12, if 2 times a month, multiply by 6, etc.(chart)
Make a list of what you need for each meal. (chart) Make a shopping list (chart)
Website for a family’s experience in living on their 90 Day supply: 3monthspreparation.blogspot.com/
Heat and Eat Foods
There are many companies out there with 3-12 month ready to go food storage packages. They range from MRE’s to freeze-dried meals where you just add water, heat and heat. Sounds perfect right? Lets learn a few facts about these types of meals.
MRE’s or Meals Ready to Eat, are foods designed and packaged for the military. The older ones were freeze-dried, the newer ones are heat and eat. Either way they are NOT meant for long term eating. In fact, they are along made to be eaten once a day. Eating more than this can cause severe medical problems that can land you in a hospital.
The add water, heat and eat kinds of meals are freeze-dried foods marketed by many different companies. They are safe to eat and taste pretty good too. However, they are not the end all solution to most families food storage needs. They have many benefits: They have a 25 year storage life; contain complete meals for one breakfast and one main meal per day; they take very little in terms of preparation and heating, however there are some very important things you should consider when depending on this type of product as your only source of food.
Freeze-dried meals are expensive, ranging from $200-$400 per person, per month. They usually contain two meals per day, one breakfast and one main meal. They have little variety with 3-5 breakfasts and 5-12 main meals depending on the vendor. They have small serving sizes; 1/2-1 cup per meal that provide between 500-1200 calories per person per day. This is NOT enough to fill your dietary needs nor wants. The higher calorie packages include foods with more carbohydrates which up the calorie count but does not increase the main meal portion size.
Bottom line is this: these are convienent and you may want to include a few of these meals as part of your food storage but you will need to suppliment them with other foods to not only increase the calories you need and to fill your stomach.
Lets move on to some other ideas for your 90-Day and Long term food storage.
Long-Term Food Storage
“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.” (providentliving.org)
Start with the basics: (9 Months)
"Perhaps if we think not in terms of a year’s supply of what we ordinarily would use, and think more in
terms of what it would take to keep us alive in case we didn’t have anything else to eat…”
Harold B. Lee, Welfare Conference Address, October 1, 1966.
Things like:
 300 lbs Grains (wheat, rice, oats, pasta, barley, popcorn, cornmeal, rye, millet, etc)
 60 lbs Beans (pinto, black, navy, split peas, lentils, soy, navy, lima, northern)
 (beans plus whole grain=complete protein) or store canned meat (lb for lb)
Then Add:
 60 lbs Sugar (white, brown, powdered, honey, jello, fruit drinks, corn syrup, jelly)
 8 lb Salt (at least ½ iodized)
 16 lb (4-#10 cans) Powdered Milk (triple amount for small children)
 3 gal. Oil (vegetable, canola, olive, shortening, mayo, peanut butter)
 3 pounds: Yeast, baking powder, baking soda
Why Do We Store These?
 Long Shelf Life (30+ years if stored properly)  Most Nutrition for the volume (2200 calories, 13 buckets)  Least Expensive ($500)
 Provide all vitamins but A & C (tomatoes contain these)
 Basis of a Healthy Diet
What Meals can you Make with a Basic Year Supply?
MENU using Basic Year Supply
Breakfast: 1 ¼ c. oatmeal Lunch: 1 c. plain pasta, 1/2 c. beans, 1 flatbread
Dinner: 1 ½ c. rice, ½ c. beans, 1 flat bread Dessert: 3 c. popcorn
If this is all you had to eat, you would survive, but you wouldn’t like it. You could only make very plain, very boring meals. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to eat this even once let alone every day for a year. BUT it is the foundation of your food storage plan. Most meals are made using these basics.
What will this provide per day? (Think Survival)
Wheat (9 oz) Rice (3.5 oz) Oats (2.2 oz)
Pasta (2 oz) Popcorn (1.3 oz) Beans/Meat (2.5 oz)
Sugar (3 oz) Salt (1 3/4 t.) Milk (1 c.) Oil (1 T.)
Survival Mode
A Basic Year Supply is about the same amount of food the Handcart Pioneers had per day.
Basic Food Storage Plan is Survival: It Isn’t a plan where you are going to be full and it is going to be very boring. Another problem is Appetite Fatigue (a term coined during Post War WWII). During the war the cities had been almost destroyed. The people scrounged and then started growing food. They only had a few different kinds of food so they ate the same thing, everyday. The older people and children just stopped eating and died. You know how children are if it is not something that is familiar to them, that they like, they just say they aren’t hungry. Lesson learned: Add variety and comfort foods to your storage.
“Church members are encouraged to prepare for adversity by building a basic supply of food… and, over time, longer-term supply items. Beyond this, Church members may choose to store additional items that could be of use during times of distress." Provident Living.org
Use your Storage in Menu Planning
When you start thinking of your basic food storage as the foundation for meals instead of the “whole enchilada” you will be on the road to good eating. So instead of thinking: I have wheat, rice, oats, beans, corn and pasta. You can think: pancakes, artisan bread, spaghetti, cornbread and chili, oatmeal muffins, fried rice and chocolate chip cookies. Look at your food storage and use it as the basis for meals for: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. Some families just plan for two bigger meals a day, because that is what their family eats. You want to plan for at least one big meal a day, one that will fill your tummy and make you feel satisfied.
Meal Planning Made Easy
Several years ago, I attended a class where the teacher taught an easy method for menu planning. She had two menus: one for cool weather and one for warm weather; they each contained 30 different main meals. To make the menu planning easier; each day of the week was a different theme.
For instance on Cold Weather Menu:
Sunday: Crock pot Thursday: Soups and Stews
Monday: Mexican Friday: Sandwiches
Tuesday: Pastas Saturday: All American
Wednesday: Casseroles
With this kind of menu planning, she knew exactly what she was going to me making for the whole year. For example…She has Spaghetti on both her menus, meaning she has it once every 30 days, or 12 times a year. She knows she needs: 12 bottles of Spaghetti sauce, 12 lbs. of spaghetti, 1 bottle of parmesan cheese and 1 lb. of hamburger. Knowing this she is able to take advantage of sales, bulk buying and couponing to save lots of money. In addition, less trips to store means: saving gas and less impulse buying. Then I realized that I could do the same thing with my food storage. This kind of menu planning not only saves money but LOTS of time because I don’t have to figure out what I need to buy at the store, it is all planned out. In addition, you only buy what you need. It is easy to rotate because you are eating what you store and you will always have everything you need to make MEALS so there is less going out. In addition it is so much healthier because I can customize the meals to my family’a 6s dietary needs. Now let’s touch on some great ideas to put together and store your MEALS.
The first method comes from a book called “It’s in the Bag” by Trent and Michelle Snow. The idea is that everything you need to make your meal is in the bag including any food, seasonings and water. It includes recipes for over 100 breakfast and main meals which all cook up in less than 30 minutes. It is perfect for everyday or 90-Day Meals and easy enough that children and spouses can make them. You can literally build or replace your food storage one bag at a time. They are easy to: make, use, transport and share and with this system you will always have everything you need to make a meal. With this system, the author was able to cut her food storage bill from $520 to $240 per month.
I Dare you to Eat It by Liesa Card adds another piece to the Food Storage into Meals puzzle. She like many of us started out buying dry goods, because the Prophet said so. Squirreling it away but not using it. After years of this she decided there must be a better way. Her system uses the 30 day Menu plan also, but she uses the basics of food storage as her inspiration for meals: 5 meals using each ingredient: rice, pasta, corn/oats, beans, potatoes and wheat equals 30 meals. These meals should be easy to make and use both long term and canned ingredients. You can start this out by thinking of just one meal using each of the ingredients, buy enough to make them 3 times each (one for each month); then find another recipe for each. When you have done this five times (5 recipes each) you will have a 90-Day supply of meals that your family already likes and is used to eating. Eventually you can expand into meal planning for your Year Supply.
The next method is from a book called, Dinner is in the Jar by my friend Kathy Clark. It is a take-off of the kinds of meals you will find in the Gifts in a Jar series. The book includes recipes for 30 delicious main meals as well as information on storing in jars or bags and info on how to use an iron to seal a mylar bag. The information is great and the recipes and method a great way to pre-assemble all the ingredients you need to make a meal. These recipes may include some add-ons, such as canned meats or liquids. I love it because it uses almost all long term food storage ingredients, but organized so that I can quickly put a meal together for my family or a friend in need. They also make great gift ideas.
There is a new book called Bread in a Bag by Pam Emick which uses the same idea of pre-assembling like in the Dinner is in the Jar but for breads. It includes recipes and instructions for pre-assembling: Artesian; French; savory; sweet breads; cinnamon rolls; pizza crust; sandwich bread and biscuits. It is full of step by step pictures for assembling and making the breads. What a great addition to a meal without having to drag out the flour bin, seasonings and measuring spoons! The recipes can be stored in: jars; mylar bags; ziplocs (short term); or Food Saver type bags. They are quick to assemble and quick to make (minus the raising time). She also has a blog where you can read and ask questions and pick-up good tips: breadinabag.blogspot.com.
Last but not least is Mix-A-Meal by Deanna Bean and Lorna Shute which was my first food storage cookbook. It is a great little book for making mixes using your Food Storage. The recipes are offered in bulk (fit in #10 cans) or mini’s; which is enough for one recipe. I call this book Fast Food Food Storage because most of the mixes simply require water added to make something delicious. The recipes include things like: baking mixes, sauces and spice mixes, dessert mixes and mixes for meals. When you are making your own mixes: you save money, can customize them to your dietary needs and tastes and time.
Buying, Borrowing and Discovering Food Storage Recipes
Finding good recipes is difference between your family “feasting” on food storage or simple surviving. Which kind of family do you want to be? There are many, good cookbooks out there. Some specialize in food storage, others just dabble in it or else they just have recipes that can be converted into Food Storage. There is now also the internet a great resource for finding recipes for specific things like: barley, rice, beans and even dried apples.
A few of my favorite cookbooks are; I Can’t Believe It’s Food Storage by Crystal Godfrey; The Everyday Gourmet by Sheri Haag; any of the Gifts in a Jar books; 100 Day Pantry, Cookin’ with Home Storage by Vicky Tate and the Amazing Wheat Book. Many times now I just find recipes on the internet for whatever I am cooking and now there are LOTS of cooking with food storage blogs that have wonderful recipe ideas for food storage and everyday cooking and eating. I look for the easy to prepare ones that have ingredients that can be easily converted to storage items.
Experiment Now (buy extra for this)
Now is the time to experiment. If you burn the bread or beans or make a terrible disgusting dish, you won’t starve or feel bad about feeding it to the dog or dumpster, because can make a sandwich or go out. You also may find you need some new “toys” to make using for food storage easier: grinder, whisk, Dutch oven, thermometer, etc.
Sharing Recipes
This is a great way to find new, tried and true recipes. I love bread, but I just like this lady, don’t really like to knead it. Recently I was sent an Artisan Bread recipe that mixes up in about 1 minute, NO KNEADING. Then it sits and the yeast works its magic on the dough, then you form it and bake it to make a wonderful, chewy, crusty loaf of bread. It is so easy. What I am saying is, if you find a good recipe using food storage items, SPREAD THE WORD. There are many who would like to try it. I would love to add it to our growing collection of food storage recipes: The other good thing about sharing is that if yours isn’t turning out just right chances are there is someone who knows how to fix the problem.
Converting Recipes…We want to LIKE what we Eat
Using family favorites or new recipes is a great way to start using your food storage.
For example; my mom makes wonderful cabbage rolls. I love them, but they take a lot of time to make. One day I was making them and watching Rachel Ray talk about stoups (cross between stew and soup) and I thought, I think I could make Cabbage Roll Stoup. So instead of steaming and rolling the meat and rice up into the cabbage leaves I just shredded the cabbage and added it all in together, cutting the preparation and cooking time in a third. My next step was to turn it into food storage using dehydrated cabbage and canned hamburger instead of fresh. It worked wonderfully, is so much faster and easier and has the same delicious taste and texture.
Original Cabbage Roll Recipe
1 lb ground beef 2 t. salt 1/2 t. pepper
½ c. instant rice 8 large cabbage leaves 8 oz tomato sauce
Sauce: 16 oz tomato sauce, 1/2 c. brown sugar & vinegar
Mix hamburger, spices, rice and tomato sauce together and set aside. Steam cabbage leaves until soft, about 10 minutes. Spoon ¼ c. meat mixture on cabbage leaf, fold in sides and roll. Place in skillet and cover with sauce mixture. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 1 hour.
Cabbage Roll Stew
1 pint hamburger, drained 1 t. salt ½ t. pepper
1/2 c. white rice 1 1/2 c. DH cabbage 6 c. water
8 oz tomato sauce
Combine ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add 1-16 oz tomato sauce ½ c. brown sugar ½ c white vinegar
Heat and serve.
Hints: Add dry with dry (using powdered milk, add with flour, add water amount to liquids).
When using DH or FD vegetables in soups/stews soak a little first will produce softer veggies.
Butter/Margarine: Do not taste like fresh; great for cooking, add oil for better texture and flavor
Dehydrated/Freeze-Dried/Canned: sources of fruits, veggies and meats, can be all be used for fresh.
Meat: One can about equal to lb. raw, add last, shorten cooking times.
Some other things to consider:
1) Fresh vs Food Storage (can the fresh ingredients be substituted for dry or canned?)
2) Make Substitutions (how much dry or canned carrots do you use for 4 fresh ones-see chart)
3) Change Instructions
Mix dry ingredients w/dry, mix wet w/wet
If you don’t like the seasonings in a recipe change them to ones you do like and record it
3) Practice, Practice, Practice (don’t expect perfect 1st time)
Why Use It Now?
 It’s Healthy : The food pyramid: 1/3 whole grains; 1/3 fruits/veggies; 1/3 Dairy/Protein/Oils
 Really yummy BUT can cause severe side effects.
Some people are allergic; digestion problems; constipation; diarrhea; sometimes hospital
 Takes 3 months to get used to eating whole grains and beans
 Much better to try now and work into diet, when doctors and medicines are available.
Use It to Find out What you Like and What you Don’t Like
 Why have 50 pounds of black beans or banana chips stored if no one will eat them?
 Your daughter is allergic to wheat, what can she eat instead?
 You love cornmeal but don’t have many recipes using it, find some and try them.
 You thought that TVP Lentil Soup Recipe sounded divine but after making it, even the dog wouldn’t
eat it. Throw that recipe away and find another, there are hundreds to choose from.
Family Recipe Book
As you find recipes you really like put them all together in a Family Recipe Book. You can make a fancy version and have it spiral bound at Staples or other copy house or simply keep them in a 3-Ring binder. The important thing is keeping them all together for when you need them.
What Else Do You Need to Make Meals?
Now that you have found a collection of recipes, what else do you need to add to your food storage to be
able to make them once or twice a week for a year?
 To make bread you may need: Grain grinder; yeast, salt, dough enhancer, wheat gluten, oil
 Soup: bouillon, vegetables, spices, pasta, rice
 Spaghetti: pasta, spaghetti sauce, spices, parmesan cheese, breadsticks
To make one loaf of bread a day for a year, using my favorite recipe I would need:
275 lbs of wheat 4 gallons of oil 46 lbs of sugar
8 lbs of yeast 20 lbs wheat gluten 4-21 oz cans dough enhancer
7 lbs of sal
Other Reason to Use Food Storage
Rotate, Rotate, Rotate
There are many reasons to rotate but these are the four I like the most:
1) I can learn how to use it; learn what I really like; plus it is a lot healthier!
2) Save money by cooking from scratch with food storage.
3) Too many people don’t rotate and end up throwing out all their food when it gets old and yucky.
4) Using Food Storage two days a week will completely rotate your food storage in 3 ½ years.
Cooking with food storage is easy and in fact it is kind of fun. Try it you’ll like it!
I really like this quote from Crystal J. Young’s blogspot: “What we must regain is an "American Dream." We must catch an excitement that if we put a strategy into play, sacrifice and stick to the plan, we can reach a goal. This goal may be to keep food on the table through a period of unemployment, lift thousands of dollars of debt, finance a college career or build stronger family relationships by sitting down to a homemade "family dinner" 7 days a week. In no way has our sacrifice been larger than our gain. Our whole family is more confident. We have all gained satisfaction as each day has required a little creativity to use what we have.”
Preparing - One Day at a Time … 3monthspreparation.blogspot.com
Organizing your Food Storage
Organizing your food storage is really important because when it is organized you can find it easier and can rotate it easier. There are as many ways to organize: from buckets with gamma lids, to self rotating shelving systems and even a food storage room. There are also much simpler ways: cans on shelves that can be rotated left to right, back to front, boxes under the beds with rows of cans with older in front, newer in back, etc.
Packaging Your Meals
Wouldn’t it be wonderful after you find those family friendly food storage recipes that you could put them together ahead of time and package them for long term storage. Then rotating would be as easy as grabbing a bag or jar off the shelf, adding a few ingredients and ta-da dinner, no fuss, no mess. This is one woman’s goal and she strives to package up 365 food storage meals. Her goal is to have 30 different dinner meals, one for each day of the month x12 for a year. Then she bags up all twelve of the one thing and adds it to her storage. What a great idea! This would work great for 90 Day Supply also.
Here is a link to a video about this idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEA6qllrtzg
How Do You Store All This Stuff?
There are four things that affect the quality= (flavor, appearance, texture, vitamins), of stored food these are known as HALT: Humidity, Air (O2), Light, Temperature. You also want to keep it in bug/rodent proof containers. After you have done all you can pray that the Lord will bless and protect your food storage.
Types of Storage Containers (store off of floors) DATE all food
Canning Jars: Use 100cc, O2 packets and jar attachment with Food Saver/Seal-a-Meal, store in dark.
Mylar Bags: unbreakable; not puncture or rodent proof; store in other container; re-sealable
#10 Cans: Make sure seal is tight, not re-useable, not airtight once opened, stackable.
Buckets: Food Grade, Stackable, re-useable, re-sealable, better with gamma lids.
PETE bottles (says PETE on bottom): re-useable, not stackable, not rodent proof, store in cool/dark place
Where to Store: Below 70º if possible: garage works for most grains and even canned goods if you rotate often, but definitely NOT for dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. They are greatly and quickly affected by heat. Store in house: top of closets, under beds, false walls, rotating shelves, etc.
**More info about effects of long term storage on BYU website: http://ndfs.byu.edu/Research/LongTermFoodStorageResearch/ResearchOnFoodStorage.aspx#beans
Storage Life of Dried Foods
This is a tough one to answer. I have seen estimates of 1-30 years. It all depends on how they are stored and the temperature. For instance if stored below 60° they can store up to 30 years, if stored at 95° they will store 2 years. That being said, the food, if package properly, and the package is not: leaking or bulging, it will be safe to eat. The storage time really affects the look and taste of the food and the nutrition of the food more than the safety. Once a food is opened, it will store, if not repackaged, 1-2 years. Freeze-dried foods are the exception. They absorb humidity very quickly and should be repackaged for optimum quality.
Why Pre-Package Meals? One Woman’s Story…
“About a month before the swine flu hit the N. UT area a few years back, someone sent me some info on the idea of storing some 'just add water and cook' meals that I could either store in jars or in mylar bags. I considered it and then thought, "This seems like too much work. I already have all those ingredients as part of my food storage. How big of a deal would it be to just put them together when I actually need them?" Sooooo, I did not mix up/store any of the meals. A month later, I got the swine flu and was quarantined. I was soooo weak that I could only stand for about 20 seconds at a time before just about collapsing. Also, I was unable to think clearly....like a severe brain fog. I could not put a meal together. My DH barely knows how to boil water, so he was no help. I needed good nutrition and yet had no one to help me. I had soooooo much food in my storage and yet it was doing me no good. The thought "Food, food everywhere and not a bite to eat," ran through my mind several times. I did not even have the strength to use my manual can opener. I had to depend on my husband to buy soups from a trusted restaurant. He had to go to work so I was all alone during the day. I would sit and cry from the exhaustion and from being so hungry and wanting nourishing food. I remembered that email my friend had sent me and how I had quickly dismissed the idea of storing the 'Meals in a Jar/Bag' concept. I cried harder then because I realized that if I had had some of those stored, I could have put some water on to boil, rested, cut open a mylar bag of dried soup ingredients, and added it to the boiling water and then rested while it cooked and then enjoyed a warm nourishing meal...no searching for a recipe, no trying to gather all the ingredients, not much thinking involved in following the directions on the prepared bag. I promised myself and the Lord that once I recovered, I would repent and do this. I think the person who had sent me the email had been inspired to send it and I so quickly dismissed it. Ugh!!! I ended up being quarantined for 7 weeks! I had already had some health problems, so that flu really did a number on me. It took a few years for me to get strong enough to be able to package these. I have since packaged 100 meals. What a wonderful feeling of security that if another sickness or a disaster hits, I could mix up a meal in minutes. Even my Dear Husband could follow the directions” Preparednessgal ldsavow.com
Rotate, Rotate, Rotate
• Practice cooking with it
• It’s a lot healthier!
• Saves money.
• Keeps your food from getting old and yucky.
• Use 2 days week - rotates in 3 ½ years
“I know I said I was hungry, but I am not THAT hungry”
Learning to make meals that your family loves and storing the other ingredients you need to make them with makes the difference between happy and mad; full and hungry and good and bad attitudes. Remember the story of Lehi and his family in the wilderness? Everyone’s bow breaks including Nephi’s. They are on the brink of starvation and even his father the prophet was murmuring. Food feeds the body and the soul. Do your best to be able to make meals that will bring out the best in you and your family.
How Can I afford to buy all of this Food?
If you sincerely desire to obtain your Year Supply, then make a plan, pray as a family and the way will be opened for it to happen. (1 Nephi 3:7)
Quote: “We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic. Begin in a small way…gradually build toward a reasonable objective.” President Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2002 Conference
Quote: “Now you ask where do I get the money for these things. I agree I need them, but I’m having a hard time making ends meet. Here is how you do it: Use one or more of the following suggestions: Food Storage Christmas: Use 25-50% of money for food storage, New Clothes: Don’t buy instead make it last a few more months, use that money for FS, Vacation/Holiday: no vacation or holiday until FS complete, Recreation: Cut by 50%, use money for FS, find fun, free things to make lasting memories, Snowmobiles/campers/boats: sell or trade to get year supply, Change Diet: Eat cheaper foods and use extra money for FS.
The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every LDS family to have a year’s supply of food reserves…All we have to do is decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place: the way will be opened and we will have our storage areas filled.” Vaughn J. Featherstone, April Conference 1976
When Do I Need to Get my Year Supply?
NOW! Most disasters don’t give notice before they strike. It’s not a matter of IF but WHEN.
Don’t panic, don’t go into debt, make a plan. If you have the funds, buy it all now, if not set aside money each month for your YS, buy local on sale and save for group buys. Plan to get it done ASAP.
Quote: "The Lord is not going to disappoint either Babylon or Zion, with regard to famine, pestilence, earthquake or storms. . . . Lay up your wheat and other provisions against a day of need, for the day will come when they will be wanted, and no mistake about it. We shall want bread, and the Gentiles will want bread, and if we are wise we shall have something to feed them and ourselves when famine comes."(Wilford Woodruff Journal of Discourses, 18:121.)
Quote –“It is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness” 1995 L. Tom Perry
Goals
* Find or convert one recipe a month
* Have a Food Storage Meal once a week
* Make a Family Food Storage Recipe Book
* Purchase other ingredients
* Pre-Measure and Package 1+ months of meals
* Practice, Practice, Practice
* Share what you learn
"Lay up your wheat and other provisions against a day of need; for the day will come when they will be wanted, make no mistake about it. We shall want bread, and the Gentiles will want bread, and if we are wise we shall have something to feed them and ourselves when famine comes." (Wilford Woodruff , Journal of Discourses, 18:121.)
Why Do We Prepare?
Feast, Flop or Famine…The Choice is Yours
"Peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable…I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us. I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh's dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn. I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew. I am familiar, as are you, with the declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning and lamentation. . . . Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son...
(Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2001.)
It is my hope that this class will inspire you to use your food storage in planning and cooking every day meals and while you are doing this expanding your basic food storage to include items that will allow you to make delicious, nutritious meals. Cooking with food storage is fun and so satisfying. It is fun to see a new recipe and think, WOW this is a great food storage recipe!!! Try it and Like it!!!
The Andersons’ Ark,”
By Debbie Davidson: Friend, Nov 1990
“Hey, Mom, I’m home!” I yelled, closing the door. I hung up my coat (but it fell to the floor).
“Hello, dear,” Mom answered. “Come in here and see.” And—like every day—I knew where she’d be.
Hands sticky with dough, flour dusting her cheek, She looked at her bread loaves—enough for a week!
“All ready for baking,” she said with a smile. “It’s good to make bread, though it does take a while.”
“Then why do you bother?” I asked, op’ning the door “Why don’t we buy bread at the store?”
“Now, that would be easy,” Mom said with a sigh. “No wheat to be ground, no yeast to buy,
“No mixing the flour, no bread dough to knead— All that takes much effort, and hard work, indeed.
“But if we don’t use what we keep stored away In our food storage room, it will spoil and decay.”
“So why do we store all the food that we do,” I questioned my mom, “when it’s so hard for you?”
“For years now,” Mom answered, “the Church leaders say To keep one year’s food saved for a rainy day.
“In fact, you might think—and not just as a lark— Our food storage room’s like our own Noah’s ark!
“We do as we’re told, just as Noah did back then. Remember, he built it before the rain came!”
“But an ark?” I asked Mother. “I don’t understand How an animal boat is like food, dried or canned?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised!” Mother said with a grin. “Would you take this flour back to its storage bin?”
So down to the basement and into the dark I hurried to board our own “Andersons’ Ark.”
There weren’t any lions there roaring aloud, But I saw all the fruit we had canned, and felt proud.
I didn’t see bears, either growling or funny, But I thought of the sweetness we get from our honey.
Though nary a glimpse of even one otter, We’d never go thirsty—we’d jugfulls of water!
No rabbits were hopping about to and fro, But canned garden veggies were neat in each row.
No cow was there to moo or to wink; However, we’d powdered milk our family could drink.
No elephant stood there to trumpet a call, But I saw our wheat stored—a half ton in all!
I looked everywhere, but there wasn’t a trace Of one single animal found in that place.
I saw enough food for my parents to feed The whole Anderson family if there’s ever a need.
We don’t know what problem, if any, we’ll face. It’s good to be ready, prepared, just in case.
I went back upstairs to where Mom was still cooking. “So how is our storage? You spent quite some time looking.”
“I know it’s important; I just can’t deny it. And without all those animals, our ark’s much more quiet

So often in my life I get caught up in my own troubles, which are seriously small and insignificant. I forget to think of others. I know there is a world beyond my own. I know there is suffering beyond my own. I know I don't do enough to help people who truly suffer.

A friend sent this link to me and it is very touching. It's about the earthquake in Japan last March.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SS-sWdAQsYg&vq=medium

Watch out for cyclists

http://findmyaccident.com/california/2012/02/15/christian-rhineer-28-on-bicycle-struck-killed-on-von-karman-avenue/

The above link and article is what scares me about Dave riding his bike. Now that we have moved (a year and a half ago) Dave doesn't ride his bike as much as he used to since we are further from his work. But he has class at UVU on M, W, and F and so he's biking back and forth to campus from work 3 times a week. Watch out for cyclists!

Dave does so many things that can injure him. It makes me nervous. I don't want to make him nervous so I spend a lot of time safely sitting on my couch. But that, combined with the deliciousness I put in my mouth make me fat. But Dave likes me fat. Seriously, he does. He wishes I'd gain 20+ pounds.

My kidlets

Here are some pictures of my kids. Just playing around the house. They have been loving doing science experiments lately. Every day they ask to do something. It's kind of fun, but I don't have many more ideas. Dave has a book with some in it from when he was a kid and that is very helpful.

My broken engagement

Did you know that before I was engaged to Dave I was engaged to a guy named Joe? Well, I was. And this is the story: (my thoughts, just jumbled together. I hope it makes sense) I asked Dave if it was okay with him if I blogged about this. I don't want to make him feel weird about it.

Back in the summer of 2002 I joined LDS singles dot come. Lame, I know. I met a guy named Jud there. We hung out a couple times and he was a nice enough guy, but he was quite young. I love going to Lagoon and I used to go every year. I asked a couple friends if they wanted to go with me and I got my friend Sarah to go with me. I asked Jud if he wanted to go and he said yes. My friend Sarah brought a guy with her. This guy had been in her institute class and they had gone on a date or two, I'm not sure how many. So Jud came to my house, then we got in my car and picked up Sarah and her friend. We rode up to Lagoon and I thought Sarah's friend was funny and he laughed at my jokes. At Lagoon we kind of switched dates. I was more interested in her date and she was more interested in mine. Her date was Joe. Anyway, I had a lot of fun. She and Jud ended up dating, too. I think it's a funny story.

A week after Lagoon all 4 of us got together at my house and hung out. Joe was at my house until late, very late. Or should I say early. He left at 4:30 a.m. Don't ever tell my kids that when they are teenagers.

So Joe and I started dating. Lagoon was on September 21st. And by general conference, which was the first week in October (I think), he introduced me as his fiance to a friend of his that we saw on Temple Square. He didn't officially propose until November 22nd. So things went very fast. Too fast.

Things were kind of rocky. The engagement was off, then back on again. Very emotional. He was from Arizona. He said he was going to move home to Arizona and that he wanted me to go with him. I told him that I'd go, but not if I was just a girl he was going to date. I'd go if we were going to work on things. I quit my job and moved to Arizona. So we moved to Tucson. I lived with his parents and he lived with a close friend of his. Let me tell you how much I love his parents. I absolutely love them. Even all these years later I still do. I haven't talked to them since this all happened, but I'm facebook friends with his dad and his aunt. And with Joe, too. I met his grandparents. In fact, before we moved to Arizona we went to visit. My friends Rob and Amy had some airline vouchers that were going to expire at the end of October so they gave them to us. And two weeks later his grandfather passed away and we went back again.










Things were just weird. I was ready to marry him, but he would drag his feet. I didn't feel like I pressured him. I knew I wasn't like the other girls he usually dated. I think he just KNEW it was wrong, but didn't want to seem like a bad guy. Not that you are a bad guy if you break off an engagement. In fact, I was ultimately the one that called it off, but that was because he didn't. He kept telling me that he had learned so much from me and that made me so mad (back then). I didn't want him to use me as a building block to learn more and more things and I told him that. I now know what he meant. Truth be told, I KNEW it was not the right choice. I mean, I was a good person, he was a good person, but together we were not a good choice.

So we were in Tucson. I had a couple job interviews and I actually got a job. I was hired as an elderly aide at an assisted living home, which is what I was doing in Orem before I went to Arizona. I was supposed to start on a Sunday. Normally I'm a very dependable person, but I called them that morning and told them I would not be taking the job. Also, we went to the DMV to get a drivers license. I had the form filled out and at the last minute decided not to get an Arizona license. Those two things (the job and the license) made it very easy for me to just leave Arizona. I didn't have to give two weeks notice, I just left.

All these thoughts keep coming in my head so that is how I'm writing them. His family was so great to me. They loved to watch The Red Green Show, which is funny because Dave loves it. I made an authentic Mexican dish with Joe's mom- she is from Mexico. And she is gorgeous, by the way. His dad is very, very practical. Doesn't take crap from anyone, which is something I really liked about him. His sister bought me a Dixie Chicks cd for my birthday. His family was amazing. In fact, that was one of the hardest part about the whole thing, knowing that I wouldn't be a part of his family. They were so fun to be with.

So when did we break up? It was pretty much going downhill, well, from the beginning, but the official day was Valentine's Day. Isn't that funny? I knew it was over and I asked him to come help me pack. Seriously, the look in his eyes made me feel bad for him. It was kind of a scared look. He came over to the house that I lived in (I moved in with some roommates later) and when I opened the door that look was there. If I was a guy I would have been scared, too. I mean, wondering what the girl is going to say to you? I moved to another state for this guy! I quit my job! I said goodbye to everyone! Girls, we all know we can be b/witchy. Admit it. There were so many things that I wanted to say to him! Was I going to let him have it??? I didn't know what I was going to say. I just wanted to "talk". I think I wanted to "talk" about things way too much back then, but I was just confused and wanted clarity. But then my heart was softened and it occurred to me: he didn't force me to come to Arizona. I went because I wanted to. I WANTED to be with him and try to work it out. I was going to marry this guy (or so we/I thought). He had done nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. And we just sat on my bed and talked. When it was over you never would have known we had just broken up. We held hands as we walked to his car, we kissed goodbye when he left. It was great. I'm so glad I didn't rip into him or yell at him. I remember thinking I still wanted him to have happy thoughts of me and not think, "man, I'm SO glad I didn't marry HER. She's awful!"

So that was the 14th. I called my mom at work (she was a teacher) and she picked up the phone and I said, "mom?" And she said, "what's wrong?" I said, "I'm coming home" and started crying. I wanted to change my oil for the long drive home (about 14 hours I think) and I was at the gas station just sobbing. I was at the Grease Monkey just sobbing. Maybe not FULL ON sobbing. Poor guys must have wondered who the freaky girl was. So my dad flew out to Tucson and drove home with me.

My dad's flight was late, like midnight on the 15th. That night Joe, his friend, and I played cards. We got along great, that was one of the fun things. When we moved to Arizona his friend noticed something different about Joe. I think it was that he wasn't happy with me. I think as friends we were fine, but thinking about being married to each, that wasn't what he wanted. So these pictures of me in the white and gray striped shirt was the last time we saw each other. I left right from there to go to the airport to pick up my dad. Look at Joe's eyes. You'd think I'd be the one who looked the saddest. I was the one who was rejected. I look happy, though, don't I?













Sorry, but the bottom of my shirt is pulled up a bit on this one.



I think of my time with him and his family with fondness, and I hope he does the same. I'm glad it didn't work out though. Look at my husband and kids, the loves of my life.

Old pictures from when I was skinny

These are some potential engagement pictures we had taken. The actual one we chose is not one of these. Dave's mom took them for us. Then a picture of me in my wedding dress at Dave's mom's house the day we got married. We got married in the Mt. Timpanogos temple in December at 4:00 p.m. I had to change into my dress at Dave's mom's house, go take pictures at the temple, go back to the house (about 5 minutes away), and get in just a regular dress. We took pictures BEFORE we got married because it would have been much darker outside when we were done with the sealing.






The first picture is of me before my mission. I think it was the day of my farewell. Before I cut my hair. I thought a shorter length would be more "missionary-ish" whatever that means. The girl I'm holding is my niece who is now 16.




This is a picture from a mission reunion. I'm resting my hand on some guy who looks like he's thinking, "get your freaking hand off of me." Can you find Dave?




And this is at a mission reunion held at someone's home. Can you find Dave in this one? This is from 1999 I think. Who would have thought 4 years later we'd be married (to each other). The other guy in this picture had his first child born the same day that our oldest child was born. Check out my short short hair.



There are two people in this world that I loved the second I met them. The first was my doctor friend Amy and the other was this Hungarian girl, Noemi (pronounced No-Amy). I still love her.




This picture is one of my districts.


I'm still on my "taking pictures of pictures" kick. Here are a few MTC pictures. The last three are of my MTC group. We all went to Hungary. We were together for 9 weeks. 9 weeks of classes all day. Some people hated the MTC. I loved it. I loved the structure, the rules, the food. I gained about 10 pounds in the MTC. I was there the same time as my little brother, David. In fact, we had our farewells together. I got up early in the MTC to see him off when he went to the airport. I don't know how many of you know this story. I served in Hungary and my brother served in Austria, which border each other. My husband Dave also served in Hungary and at one point he was sick on his mission and they sent him to Austria to get help (I guess the health care there was better or something). He was at the Austrian mission home on their transfer day. My brother Dave was at the mission home at the same time my husband Dave was there. He found out husband Dave was serving in Hungary and he said, "do you know Sister Kennedy? She is my sister." In face, husband Dave and I had served together. So my brother and future husband met each other in Austria. Funny.

One picture is of my MTC comp Sister Brooks and our other roommates who served in a different mission. We just all happened to wear blue that day.

The first picture is of my "bedroom" in my 2nd city. And a picture of my comp and I showing that neither one of us had butts.