Food Storage

I'm over at Mom's house doing laundry right now. We got into a conversation about food storage. We realized that many of us (Mom, me, Mom's mom, my sister-in-law, others) are having the same feeling - we need to work on our food storage. It's one of those "this is urgent - do it!" types of feelings. I've been doing a little every week, just adding an extra can or two, an extra bag of flour or box of baking soda. But I'm going to do a little more. Generations of latter-day prophets have counseled the members of the Church to store up food and supplies enough for a year. We've been feeling lately that it's getting increasingly urgent that we follow this counsel. The thought keeps running through my head, "get your food storage, get your food storage."

However, it can be fairly overwhelming to think of all the stuff you need to get in order to have a year's supply, especially for those of us who are still starting out, and in the early stage of our marriage and family life. It's even overwhelming for my mom. Mom realized, though, that she doesn't have to do it all at once. She's starting on a plan to get one month of storage at a time, and build up from there. Here's a list Mom found of how much food is needed per person, per month. Do this twelve times for each person in your family, and you'll have a good year's supply of foods!

Grains (wheat, rice, oats, pasta, cereal)
-25 lb.

Legumes (dry beans, canned nuts, peanut butter)
-5 lb.

Sugar (white, brown, powdered, honey, corn syrup, molasses)
-5 lb.

Salt
-1/2 lb.

Dairy (powdered, evaporated, sweetened condensed, non-perishable cheeses)
-25 qt.

Fats (shortening, oil)
-1 1/2 lb.

Meats (canned, frozen, tuna)
-5 lb.

Fruits and veggies (canned, dried, frozen; include some high in Vit. A and C - carrots, spinach, vitamin C-fortified juices)
-30 lb.

Water (for two weeks per person)
-14 gallons

Also keep in mind other things you use to prepare foods, such as: yeast, baking soda, baking powder, vinegar, spices, canned soups; and any other non-perishable foods that you use on a regular basis.

You don't have to buy all of this stuff all at once, of course. You can do a little at a time, but do it consistently. We plan to buy something for food storage every week when we shop for our regular groceries. I plan on utilizing some creative storing spaces too - under the beds and the crib, stacked in all the random diaper boxes we seem to accumulate, squeezed into empty space in the closets.