Food Storage - Where do you start?

Three posts in a week?  Don't pass out, anyone!



The Shelf Reliance Cansolidator Pantry Plus

 The other day my friend Shirley asked me about food storage and how to get started with it.  Now, I'm a Mormon an I make no secret of it!  But I often wonder what people who aren't Mormon think about us and our desire to store food.  We really aren't nuts, I promise.  There's just something so wonderful in the security that a good store of food.  Plus, we've been counseled by many Prophets to do it, and we kind of like to be obedient.

Our Church leaders have advised us for years to be prepared for emergencies, both financial, physical (temporal) and spiritual.  One of the things they've asked us to do is store a 3-month supply of everyday food, a two week supply (at least) of drinking water, a one year "longer term" supply of staples like whole grains and beans, and (the hardest for us personally) a financial reserve. 

So, when she read about our January Financial Experiment, my friend, Shirley, asked me about it.  She and her hubby are interested in getting started storing some basic food items, "just in case."  They aren't sure how to get started.  She said:

"So how do you do it?  How do you keep it?  Do you continue to use out of your stockpile or just put it away for emergency use (like invasion or whatever reason).  [We want] to buy large quantities staples.  I'm confused on how to put these things away without them going bad and then having to replace them occasionally.  We're brand new to this type stuff."

I wrote up a big long email with lots of resources in it and sent it off.  I imagine it was more than she anticipated.  I have a tendency to spew out large amounts of information at people.  Probably why I like blogging. 

Then I started thinking... maybe there are others out there that don't know where to start and who to ask.  So, I decided to post the information here.  And here it is!

First of all, I think that food storage is fun!  I love the feeling of putting up 40 pounds of apples.  Seeing those jars lined up and gleaming.  It makes me feel safe. I know where my next meal is coming from. 

Getting Started
Not sure what to store? You can keep a short term storage (1 year or less) of just regularly packaged foods.  You can also store foods appropriately for 20-30 years, if you want.  I prefer to have some long term and some short term.  We try to have a 3 month supply of the foods we normally eat on hand. I do this just by stocking up on the things we normally eat.  Then we rotate through it. 

I think the most important things are to A) store only products you will use and B) learn how to use the long term storage products available C) DON'T just buy it and store it away and forget about it.  It should be a contantly rotated and used system. 

It makes no sense for you to store 600 pounds of wheat if you have no idea what to do with it, if you suddenly needed it.  I have a lot of wheat stored.  I have a wheat grinder and make bread every week.  If you suddenly start introducing large amounts of whole wheat into your diet and you aren't used to it, it can actually make you sick (lots more fiber than white flour)!

Planning a 3 Month Supply
The best way to plan a 3 month supply of food for your family is to make a list of the meals you make all the time.  What are your favorites?  Then make a two or three week menu for dinners.  List out everything you need to make those meals and add them up. If you can, substitute canned, dried or frozen ingredients for fresh.  Now you know what you'll need to store for that 2-3 week period.  Multiply it out to make three months.  Now you have a three month supply list.  Once you have Dinner under control, expand the process for Lunch and then Breakfast.  A good website for this method is I Dare You to Eat It.  I have her book and love it. 

Practical Storage
As far as how to store all this stuff, my favorite place for shelving and such is Shelf Reliance.  They are pricey but awesome!  You can sometimes get them at Costco or Costco Online for less.  I have their pantry can racks and love them!  We keep most of our food storage in a big closet under our stairs.  You want to keep it somewhere that not going to get very hot.  It will shorten the life of your food. 

Online Resources
Like I said before, our Church and it's members are big into food storage and being prepared for emergencies.  The Provident Living website talks about the four important aspects of being prepared and "living providently":
Main Family Home Storage Page - the longer term supply link has some good info on storage life and containers
Family Home Storage FAQ page
Family Home Storage Calculator - A calculator to figure out how much of long term grains/beans to have

The Home Storage Center
The LDS (Mormon) Church also runs places called "Home Storage Centers".  We call them canneries :-).   Anyone can go and purchase long term storage goods there.  You don't have to be Mormon to go there.  The products are there to serve people not to make a profit so it's usually a good deal.  Plus it's packaged properly.  It's in the same building usually as our Bishop's Storehouses which are the Church's welfare facilities.  Usually when you go, you actually do the work of canning your products yourself.  But each one is run a little differently.  You'd just have to call them and ask.  Explain you aren't a member of the Church and I know they'll be helpful and explain it all.  You can get a lot of good stuff there, wheat, rice, beans, dry milk, sugar, flour, dehydrated apples, carrots, onions, macaroni, oats, spaghetti, potato flakes and some other things.  All packaged for long term storage.
Home Storage Centers in the Western United States - You can just call the number listed and see when they have time available for you to come in.
Home Storage Center Order Form - the current order form for the home Storage Center.  Lists all the products, the storage life and packaging available.

Commercial Websites
Some good commercial places for information or to purchase supplies are:
Emergency Essentials
Walton Feed
Honeyville Grain
Most or all of these places will also do group orders if you get a bunch of friends together to order. 

I hope you find this information helpful.  If I could give you one piece of advice to get you going it's this: Start small, store for one week, then two weeks, then a month.  Remember, how do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!  Wow, that's kind of a gross saying now that I think of it...

Jan