Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Food storage outbreak!


For the past three weeks it seems like all that I have talk about with friends and Keith is food storage and emergency preparedness. We've been helping Racheal D. our Bisphop's wife get ready for a fifth sunday lesson. She asked Keith and I to talk about financial preparedness, but I let Keith handle it because I didn't want to get a teacher for my young women. I hear he did a great job as well as everyone else.

We also have been trying to get some wheat but the price has gone throught the roof with so many growers turning to corn. In fact the cannery doesn't have wheat and may not for a while. White wheat that is. They can still get red.

So I all I have to say is dido to everything Melanie said on her blog about the difference between food storage being for times of unemployement, or major crisis, but emergency preparedness is to help you get through a short term disaster.
Here's how I gained my testimony of food storage. Like Denise pointed out being that Keith and I were raised in the gospel we both knew what it was and why but like every other newlywed couple it was last on the list of things to aquire. I know this sounds unromantic, but Keith gave me a Bosch mixer for a wedding present. Keith was raised with a mother that made and still does make bread every week for her family. In fact she said that when all the boys were young and home sometimes she's make it two or three times a week. (Those who make bread, seldom loaf. Words to live by.) My mother made bread also, but not so realigiously. I had mentioned to Keith that I'd like to make bread also, but it was difficult without a good mixer. The first year of our marriage was my year experiment with bread making. One batch would be great the next like a rock. I quickly reallized that I needed a grinder inorder to have fresh white whole wheat flour. So for your first anniversary Keith bought me a grinder and a few #10 cans of wheat. Yippy! My bread making skill reached new heights. But we still didn't have a year supply or a desire to get one. We just liked fresh bread. When we moved here to Virginia, Bishop Olsen called me to be the Provident Living Specialist, which I honestly had no idea what that was. He said that he'd like me to help the ward with both food storage and emergency preparedness. So I went straight to LDS.org for ideas. I mentioned to my visiting teachers that I had a new calling and didn't know where to start. My good furture is that my visiting teachers are two of the most incredible women, Leeann Hansen and Marlene Bott. Both excellent bread makers and the queens of provident living. With all this knowledge that I had collected I realized that provident living requires two things, money to buy all this stuff and space to put it. Well, we have space, but money I was all the way commited to this principle. So Keith and I decided to spend $10 every month buying surplus groceries either for the pantry or for food storage purposes. We also asked our parents to give us money for Christmas and Birthdays that year to put toward buy food storage, water containers, premade 72-hour backpack, hand crank flashlight, radio, transmitter thing. For about a year all of your holiday presents were items we wanted to peace of mind. You quickly realize that a lot of this fit into emergency preparedness, tent, sleepingbags, ropes, propaine cooking grills, TP, toothpaste, ect. Leeann has been a great source for learning where is the cheapest place to buy bulk when items are cheap.

I know the church now only asked for 3 month pantry supply but I have a testimony that having more is a blessing. My sister and her husband got thier food storage when they were first married. He had a great career and they had enough money. Well a few years later, he lost his business, and had to go back to school. They had a few very small children at home to she taught paino lessons and made due. I was single at the time and spent a lot of time in thier home. She was great at canning fruit when she found it cheap or free, and trying new recipes using her food storage. I never realized that beans could be cooked so many ways. I didn't realize how bad things were for them until one weekend when my Dad came down to visit and went into the pantry. He then went to the store and came back with food mostly just fun kid foods that his grandkids were doing without, oh and a pizza. My sister was a great example to me of why we need to obey the commandments of God. They didn't have to be a burden on the church or goverment, and she didn't have to leave the home to provide a meal for her children. For having gone through this experience I know that my sister was blessed with wisdom.
Year supply is something you have to stay on top of because your supply quickly diminishes. And for me I'm ok if I never use some of it, and it goes bad. I'm being obedient, so hopefully the Lord will bless me with long lasting oats that I'm never forced to use. I'm ok with that. I have a testimony of the peace of mind that having a year supply, a full pantry and 72-hour supplies bring me and my family. That is a great blessing.
I try to inventory my supplies every year during General Conference weekend. Another good idea is picking up bottled waters at Costco everytime your there. They are easy to store, cheap and would be easy to use in an emergency. Glad to see and hear the food storage bug is buzzzzing around the ward.

5 comments:

Melanie said...

Thanks for the 72 hour kit reminder. Ours are SO out of date! Of course, we're doomed if we actually have to carry our kits with us! They are so full and there is so much for a family with young children! Hopefully we'll only have to use them at home. haha

Navy Blue Cardigan said...

I just commented on Melanie's blog, so I hope you don't mind a little repitition. As part of being "prepared" I think it's important to keep your car on the full side with gas (depsite high prices).

You don't want to be on your way to the ER, or other urgent destination and have to stop and fill up! Several years ago I didn't listen to my own advice, and during a major blackout nearly left my husband stuck several hours away because without power, gas stations shut down and there's no way to fill up!

Also, with a new baby, I really need to update my car kit, and add diapers, wipes, formula, etc. so that if we are away from home during an emergency (like an earthquake that closes roads) he'll be covered.

normella said...

I noticed that Marlene Bott is your visiting teacher. I used to work with her husband Darrell, so will you please tell her to have Darrell give me a call at USU (he'll know who Norma is)? And yes, you're right -- she does make fabulous bread. Her cinnamon rolls are to die for!!

Thanks,
Norma

normella said...

I noticed that Marlene Bott is your visiting teacher. I used to work with her husband Darrell, so will you please tell her to have Darrell give me a call at USU (he'll know who Norma is)? And yes, you're right -- she does make fabulous bread. Her cinnamon rolls are to die for!!

Thanks,
Norma

normella said...

I noticed that Marlene Bott is your visiting teacher. I used to work with her husband Darrell Bott, but I have lost contact with them. Will you please tell Marlene to have Darrell give Norma a call at USU (he'll know my last name)? And yes, you're right, Marlene does make fabulous bread -- her cinnamon rolls are to die for!!