This is not food storage. These were canned by me in the fall of 1997! If I haven't used them by now I am probably not going to use them EVER.
Food storage is food your family eats on a regular basis--not something that will be stored in your basement for years until it goes bad. And I promise even though a list somewhere says something will last for 30 years it may not always be the case. For instance, I recently opened one of the above 11 year old #10 cans of rice from family canning. It was SO rancid and gross.
I buy foods my family will eat and rotate through them on a regular basis.
Coming up in the new March Ensign is an article about food storage. It is titled "Family Home Storage: A New Message". This article talks about how home storage/food storage is now taking on a new and simplified approach. Getting a year supply for any family, especially in today's economy, can seem daunting. I think many of us get overwhelmed and think it is out of our reach and so we don't start.
They give us four easy steps in the article to help simplify our goals of food storage and self reliance.
1- Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your NORMAL, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
2- Store drinking water (14 gallons per person).
3-Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
4- Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.
The article talks more in depth on each of these four guidelines.
The article ends with a quote from Dennis Lifferth, the managing director of the Church Welfare Services. It says, "Perhaps in the past accumulating a year's supply of food may have been a little intimidating. But this new approach asks us to do the best we can, even if all we can do is to set aside a can or two a week. If the prophet asks us to do something, we can find a way to fulfill the commandment and receive the blessings. The new program is within EVERY ONE'S grasp. The first step is to BEGIN. The second step is to continue. It doesn't matter how fast we get there so much as that we begin and continue according to our abilities."
I have also found food storage becomes FUN & easy overtime. Right now we have 3+ months of food we eat everyday stored in our home. It is such a relief to know that I have everything I need right here.
Some of my food storage additions from this week were:
12 cans of diced green chilis. -- I have been planning our menu by month for 6 months now. Although every month is different I have found we eat one meal per month that has green chilis in it. This week at Macey's they were .50 cents a can. That is a rock bottom price so I stocked up.
Pasta. -- We eat some sort of baked pasta casserole every month. This week again at Macey's they had 16oz bags of various pastas for .85 cents! This is way cheaper than even the church sells theirs at the family canning center. Plus Macey's has a much better variety. I stocked up on these too.
Bread. -- I found a great deal on day old bread this week. And it wasn't even really day old. It was just close to it's date. We go through about 2 loaves a week. I got it for .69 cents a loaf. I have 7 loaves double bagged in the freezer.
25 lbs of flour from Family Canning(cost $9.10)
17 lbs of pancake mix from Family Canning (cost $13.40)
5+ lbs cocoa from family Canning (which is Steven's Gourmet cocoa by the way. You know that costs $3.99 on sale for a 12 oz can in the store. I paid just over $6 for the whole can)
Then there's the Albies sale where I got a ton this week for next to nothing!
I use my food storage EVERY day. Here is our meal last night that was made using items from our food storage.
1 4.23lb whole chicken fryer -- .59cents a lb at Smiths a couple of weeks ago. I bought several to freeze and cook as needed. We only ever eat 1/2 for one meal so this counts for 2 meals. The leftovers will be used in Chicken Enchiladas next week.
1 box Uncle Bens long grain and wild rice -- .60 cents after buying several boxes on sale and with coupons a few months ago.
2 cans corn --.33 cents each bought last year at Kent's case lot sale. I buy a case each year.
1 loaf homemade bread with butter--MAYBE .50 cents for the ingredients all from our food storage none of which came from a #10 can. LOL ;)
Spices and seasonings --Maybe $.10 cents.
Total cost last night to feed my family of 5 -- $3.11
To me, being self reliant just makes sense! It is such a smart way to live and shop. Blessings have come to our family because of the storage we have in our home.
No comments:
Post a Comment