Month 1 (April 2012)
Welcome to the first of twenty-four installments of the Stake Preparedness Plan! This will help you get ready for what may lie ahead personally, locally or globally. The first step is to formulate your goals. Read through the entire packet you received (each item is listed and linked to below). Each resource will help you better understand what the Church has counseled us to prepare and how the stake plan can help you do that (for more resources see the Preparedness Links on the sidebar and our Documents Website). Once you read the packet, prayerfully consider the plan and what personal revisions you feel the Lord would have you make. He alone can help you know what He would have you do. He will show you the way to accomplish His will for you. Even if you cannot do everything, finding out what the Lord wants you to do and doing it, regardless of how small, demonstrates your obedience and entitles you to blessings and revelation.
You'll see that the goals include having two types of food storage: enough foods that store well for a long time like wheat and beans (we'll call them long-term foods) to feed you for a year, and enough everyday non-perishable foods (like spaghetti sauce, canned pears, etc.) to feed you for three months. It's also vital to have a 2-week supply of water. This preparedness plan will walk you through the process of acquiring each of these things.
You'll see that the goals include having two types of food storage: enough foods that store well for a long time like wheat and beans (we'll call them long-term foods) to feed you for a year, and enough everyday non-perishable foods (like spaghetti sauce, canned pears, etc.) to feed you for three months. It's also vital to have a 2-week supply of water. This preparedness plan will walk you through the process of acquiring each of these things.
This month begin saving $11 per month per person—saving this amount will give you a year’s supply of food in two years. (This savings plan assumes you will be buying the cannery’s pre-canned and boxed month-supply food storage, though there are several other options available). Your situation may not permit the storing of a year supply, or may prohibit your ability to visit the cannery—acquire what you can and continue saving each month toward the time when you can acquire more. If you cannot save $11 per month per person, save $5.50 and you will have your year’s supply in 4 years. If you cannot save $5.50, save $2.25 and reach your goal in 8 years (assuming stable food prices). As mentioned in the packet, you will have the opportunity to make scheduled trips to the cannery to periodically pick up food storage and build your supply using your saved money.
SUMMARY:
*Read the Two-Year-Plan Packet: The Intro and Synopsis blog tabs, One for the Money, All is Safely Gathered In--Family Home Storage, and All is Safely Gathered In--Family Finances.
*Read the Two-Year-Plan Packet: The Intro and Synopsis blog tabs, One for the Money, All is Safely Gathered In--Family Home Storage, and All is Safely Gathered In--Family Finances.
*Read “LDS Essentials of Home Production and Storage” on the right-hand column of the blog; visit the Documents Website (also linked on the right-hand column of the blog)
*Prayerfully determine what the Lord would have you do to prepare
*Begin saving $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
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Month
2 (May 2012)
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.
Month 3 (June 2012)
Welcome to Month 3 of the Two Year Preparedness Plan!This month find 5 food storage recipes (recipes that require shelf-stable ingredients or that help you rotate what you've got stored) and keep them with your preparedness packet that was handed out in Month 1. The idea is to become familiar with where to find food storage information. Good options include a google search, church materials, preparedness blogs, or friends who are knowledgeable. We are purposefully not including recipes in the attachments (except one at the end of this email, after the summary!) because in looking yourself you will find recipes tailored to your taste and dietary needs, and will find more resources than we could list. Just poking around looking for things, you can find a lot more than you'd expect!
Try at least one of the recipes you find. Experimenting and practicing can do a lot to build your confidence toward using what you will be storing. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You may not have the stored ingredients yet so, for instance, buy whole wheat flour from the store instead of grinding it from your wheat storage yourself (using half white flour if you are not used to 100% whole wheat is just fine). Just make it work for you and where you are right now. Any change in the preparedness direction will get you there in the end. We (stake provident living chairs) have both tried many recipes we'll never use but in the process we've found standbys we use for our families on a weekly basis.
To begin preparing your 3-month everyday food storage, keep track of everything you eat. Keep track of what you eat, not buy, since that isn't always the same. Don’t worry if what you keep track of is shelf-stable - just write it down and you can figure out how to store its equivalent in Month 6 (September). The food that you'll be storing for the 3-month storage is the same as you would store for the 2-week storage that was encouraged in the past few years in the stake. The "FoodRecordPrintout" or "FoodRecordSpreadsheet" documents in the Food Storage section of the Documents Website can help with this.
This is a great time to brush up on some nutrition know-how: dry food storage has a lot more to offer than might first appear! The document "WhyWheatandBeans" on the Documents Website was approved by a nutritionist, so look it over.
*Find and add 5 food storage recipes to your preparedness packet and try at least one recipe
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
*Read "WhyWheatandBeans" in the Food Storage section of the Documents Website.
See "FoodRecordPrintout" and "FoodRecordSpreadsheet" in the Food Storage section of the Documents Website.
Here's a 100% wheat bread recipe you can make from just a few, shelf-stable ingredients. I (Saralynn) have looked for a good whole wheat bread recipe for a long time, one that I could make without a mixer or any special equipment, and one that would taste good enough for my family to eat too! This is it!
100% Whole Wheat Bread
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/4 to 1/3 cup honey
3 cups warm water (hot bath water temp, not too hot)
1/4 cup olive oil, vegetable oil, or melted butter
1 Tbsp salt
6 to 8 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten *
Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water. Let sit 5 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy. Stir in oil, salt, 3 cups of the wheat flour and the gluten. Add flour 1 cup at a time, stirring thoroughly in between. When dough forms a rounded lump and pulls away from the side of the bowl, put it on a floured surface to knead by hand. Knead by pulling the far side up and towards you then pushing it into the near side. Rotate a quarter turn and repeat. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes (this really helps tone your triceps :) until dough is soft and elastic. Put back in the bowl and let rise 1 hour, covered with a towel.
Take dough out of the bowl and divide into 3 equal lumps. You can form these into logs and place in greased, medium loaf pans or form into round discs and place on greased cookie sheets. Let rise 1 hour, covered. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until loaves are nicely browned. Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks. Wait 30 minutes before cutting for better texture.
*Bob's Red Mill makes vital wheat gluten and you can find it in most large grocery stores and online. This is the protein in the bread that stretches and supports the shape of the loaf as it rises. Since the bran in whole wheat flour cuts the strings of gluten, you need a little extra to help it hold together and keep it's shape.
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Stake Provident Living Chairs
Month 4 (July 2012)
This month you will go to cannery like you planned in May pick up 2 months worth of food storage. The LDS Church provides information on how to store your food safely (away from heat, light, etc.). Use your $11 per person for food storage toward this cannery trip. You are 1/6th
of the way toward your goal of having a year supply of food - hooray!
If you're looking for places to put your food storage, read the attached article - it has lots of creative ideas. Each cannery box of six cans is 7 1/2" tall, 12 1/2" wide and 19" long. You can fit 12 cases under a queen sized bed, or 12 cases on a 6-foot metal shelf available at places like (but not limited to) Home Depot, Target or Costco. Each person needs 12 cases worth of food storage a year so one bed or shelf per person!
If you're looking for places to put your food storage, read the attached article - it has lots of creative ideas. Each cannery box of six cans is 7 1/2" tall, 12 1/2" wide and 19" long. You can fit 12 cases under a queen sized bed, or 12 cases on a 6-foot metal shelf available at places like (but not limited to) Home Depot, Target or Costco. Each person needs 12 cases worth of food storage a year so one bed or shelf per person!
*Visit the cannery and buy 2 months of food storage. If you are not canning items yourself call ahead to make sure what you plan to pick up is on hand.
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply (use this trip)
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
See "Hide&Seek Food Storage" in the Food Storage section on Two Year Preparedness Plan Documents website.
Month 5 (August 2012)
This month is usually a busy one for most people so just keep saving that $11 per month and tracking what you eat for your 3-month storage. Ever wonder about the nutrition of food storage? Or why it is that the Church recommends wheat and beans for food storage in the first place? Print out "WhyWheatandBeans" and read it during some down time, and that will give you an idea of how food storage is designed to keep you going.
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
See "WhyWheatandBeans" in the Food Storage section of the Documents Website.
Food Storage, Month 6 (September)
This
month the goal is to acquire and store 1 week of water . The common
consensus no matter what authority you consult (church, civic,
humanitarian, etc.) is that it is critical to have a two week supply of
water, which consists of 1 gallon of water per person per day. Make
sure your water supply is in a low area, so that if it should leak, it
won't ruin what is under it. You can either buy smaller containers of
water and rotate through them, or you can buy a large, food-safe barrel
to store tap water and rotate that water every 6 to 12 months.
Emergency Essentials has some of the best prices for barrels
though I'm sure there are other great deals out there (again, not
endorsing this company). The prices get better if you buy several at a
time - group order anyone?
Ready.gov provides information on storing and treating drinking water.
Browse both the "Water" and "Managing Water" options in the left-hand
column. There's also a page for water storage and treatment on the
Church's providentliving.org. You'll cover water purification techniques in January.
*Buy or order storage for 1 week’s worth of water per person (7 gallons per person)
*Prepare
to visit the cannery again in two months (November) - notify the
cannery if you plan to order 8 or more of any one item so they can have
it in stock
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
*For 3-month storage: Keep track of everything you eat this month
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
Food Storage, Month 7 (October)
This month the goal is to acquire and store your second week's worth of water. Now you have your two week supply of water! Celebrate!
For your 3-month storage of everyday foods, look at your
data collected over the last several months of keeping track of what you
eat. Find the average of what you eat per month for each item, and then
divide that average by 4 to see what you eat every week.
Make a shopping list out of your one-week needs and spread this shopping list out over the month so that you’re only buying a couple extra things each trip. Obviously you’ll want to only buy non-perishable foods or the non-perishable equivalent of fresh foods (think canned corn instead of fresh or frozen). This slow accumulation will continue over the next 12 months until you have built up 3 months worth of foods you use on an everyday basis. See the "FreshFoodConversion" document at sites.google.com/site/
Make a shopping list out of your one-week needs and spread this shopping list out over the month so that you’re only buying a couple extra things each trip. Obviously you’ll want to only buy non-perishable foods or the non-perishable equivalent of fresh foods (think canned corn instead of fresh or frozen). This slow accumulation will continue over the next 12 months until you have built up 3 months worth of foods you use on an everyday basis. See the "FreshFoodConversion" document at sites.google.com/site/
*Buy and store 1 week’s worth of water per person (7 gallons per person)
*For 3-month storage: calculate your weekly needs and accumulate one week's worth
*For 3-month storage: calculate your weekly needs and accumulate one week's worth
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply
See "FreshFoodConversion" in the Food Storage section of the Document Website.Month 8 (November 2012)
This
month take advantage of the Thanksgiving food sales and buy 1 week's
worth (or more if you feel up to it!) of everyday food storage items
(that you made a list of last month. This
is also the time to visit the cannery as you planned in Month 6
(September) and pick up 2
months worth of long-term food storage. Use your $11 per month per
person for
food storage toward this cannery trip. You are 1/3rd of the way toward your goal of having a year supply of food - hooray!
*For 3-month storage: Buy 1 week of 3-month-type food this month
*Visit the cannery and get 2 months worth of food storage.
*Visit the cannery and get 2 months worth of food storage.
*Save $11 per person for your year’s food storage supply (use this trip)
