This
month you will prepare for a trip to the cannery in two months.
First, decide what you will be ordering. By the time you go to the
cannery, you will have saved $44 per person, enough for two month's
worth of food. Cannery trips are scheduled every four months for the
duration of the preparedness plan, though you can go more or less
frequently depending on how much room you have in your vehicle, etc.
The
document “Food Storage Purchase Options” is your friend this
month - it will help you think about how you want to go about
acquiring your year supply. (This document is accessible by clicking the
Documents Website bullet under Preparedness Links on the webpage - it's
under Food Storage). Once you have created your list, look it
over and note whether you will be buying 8 or more of one single item
(eg., 8 cases of prepacked pinto beans, or 8 cans dehydrated apple
slices). If you are getting 8 or more of a single item, you'll need
to call the cannery and let them know this month so that they can
order enough of that item the month you'll be coming to pick it up.
The
simplest
way to acquire your food storage is to get it already
packed. If this is your method, the only planning required is that
you call the cannery this month if you have 8 or more of any one thing,
and call them the Thursday or Saturday before your visit. The
cannery is only open Thursdays and Saturdays between 9am and 4pm.
Your call will confirm that the food you plan to pick up is in stock
so that your trip will not be wasted.
LDS
Cannery: 231 Brooks St, Worcester, MA Phone:
508.595.9319 Open: Thurs and Sat, 9a-4p
Price
list: At providentliving.org
click on “Home Storage Order Forms" in the left column.
There's also a printed price list in the preparedness packet you
received last month.
If
you intend to can food yourself (as would be the case with anything
in the top portion of the cannery price list), you'll need to make an
appointment to use the canning equipment. The cannery can
accommodate groups as small as two people or as large as six at a
time, and it's lots of fun to can with friends. This month you'll
call on a Thursday or Saturday between 9am and 4pm to speak with
someone who can schedule your trip in two months (July). When you
can your own food, you can buy as much or as little as you like: if
you open, say, a 25 lb bag of hot cocoa, you must can the whole
thing, but you do not have to buy the whole thing. The cannery does
not permit outside foods to be packed there, but there are portable
canners that you or a group of friends can borrow for two weeks at a
time. These need to be reserved in advance of your using them.
If
you pick up bulk bags of food and want to store it in food-safe
plastic buckets there is information on the Document
Website on how to do this properly (click on the Document Website link under Preparedness Links on the website).
One
more thing: this month -May - is the perfect time to read up on
gardening and sprouting! The Gardening and Sprouting links on
the Document
Website , as well as providentliving.org's
gardening info are great places to start. Pinetree
Garden Seeds catalog has sections on both container plants and
sprouting seeds to buy. Sprouting is made super easy with Sproutease Sprouter Jar Tops you can find on amazon.com.
I tried these for the first time last month to sprout alfalfa and mung
beans and they worked really well. (I am not endorsing these
companies, only
suggesting possible sources from which to purchase.)
*Plan
your visit to the cannery in July and prepare accordingly
*Read
the Church’s information on Gardening, and
the gardening and sprouting links in the "Food Storage"
section of the Documents
Website.
*Save
$11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
See
"Food Storage Purchase Options" in the Food
Storage section of the Documents
Website.
