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New Year Review!

  Still a very good article resource, so let's start the new year with a review! What am I supposed to have in my food storage? There are three main components of food storage: Food supply (three-month and long-term) Water supply Financial reserve Store foods that are a part of your normal diet in your three-month supply. As you develop a longer-term storage, focus on food staples such as wheat, rice, pasta, oats, beans, and potatoes that can last 30 years or more. Click  HERE  to read the entire article, complete with MORE links and great information! 

Give the gift of PEACE and LOVE

 From simple to extreme, the gift of preparedness is multi-fold.  Giving physical items to family members and/or friends not only helps them on their journey to provident living, but also gives them the feeling of being loved and cared about.   Grown children come to realize the importance of being prepared as they move out and start their own households.  Young children always love a flashlight or a small battery powered lantern.  Having the knowledge you have even a small collection of preparedness items tucked away can bring great peace to ones self being.   Consider giving such items to those you love (including YOURSELF!)  Have a great Holiday Season!   We are excited for renewed goals and plans to help you in your endeavors of living providently.  Watch for your monthly newsletters and let's make 2025 a fabulously PROVIDENT year!

Preparedness truly saves...

  Wow what a month.  While life goes on here, anticipating the big wind, earthquake, evacuation... Most of us thinking, it will never happen... It will.  The question is when. Will we be ready? I personally have several family members in Florida and North Carolina, where multiple Hurricanes and storms have caused havoc.  All of my family and friends are alive, however they have lost much.  Their local friends and their families, some have lost everything.  Except the clothes on their backs and the evacuation supplies they were able to have ready to go.  BIG testament to having a 72 hour kit, ready to travel.  Many people from those areas, didn't have anything left to come home to and are starting from scratch with the little they took with them. In North Carolina, in the mountains above Bat Cave and Asheville, there is a little community of 10 households.  When the floods from Hurricane Helene came through, many of their homes were severely d...

Canning Season is HERE!!!

  As a matter of fact, Canning Season is coming to a close in my household and I presume most of you that "Can" your garden produce are either right in the thick of it, or also winding down.  The cooler temps have been nice to slow things down just a little bit so we can catch up! If you don't already preserve foods by canning but would like to learn, check with your ward and inquire if you have a "Food Storage and Canning Specialist".  Many wards do. If your ward does not have a specific person to assist with this, I would bet there is someone in your neighborhood that does their own and most likely would be glad to give tips and share some tricks of the process.  I would be happy to help if you need me.  Just send me an e-mail! (you can find it on the Stake Blog.) T here are two different types of canning, water-bath canning and pressure canning.  Water-bath canning is used to preserve foods that have a higher acidity such as jams, jellies, and most fruit...

Short Term, Long Term and Water Storage

It's a good time for everyone to take a look at just how prepared they are for any emergency that may arise.  Up to this point we have mostly talked about 3 day to 3-6 month supply and a few longer term solutions, i.e. dehydrated and freeze dried foods.   Most things we buy at case lot sales or grow in our gardens are short term solutions unless they are dehydrated or freeze dried and then packaged for longer term storage. In order to make the things we buy for our storage last as long as possible they all need to be packaged in a way that will ensure the longest shelf life.   For example, in order to make a bag of flour last for 20-25 years it would be best to put it in a 5 gallon bucket or mylar bags with the proper amount of oxygen absorbers in it.   Another great way to add long term storage to your food is buying it in #10 cans.  They have a long shelf life and the church offers great deals on these items.  These are a great solution for thos...

KITS, KITS, and more KITS!

   Now is a good time to build or refresh your various preparedness kits. Check the Blog  HERE  to find several lists and types of kits, including what you may want to include in them. Since every household and family is different, their kits should be different too.  Adapt your kit(s) to fit your needs and each family member may have different items included.  Create an extra "Household Kit" to include shared items such as cooking supplies, shelter and fuel etc.  Don't forget your pets!

Cooking without Electricity

    Having a way to cook when the power goes out is important.    Here   is a list of different kinds of cooking apparatus'.  Decide which one(s) will work best for your family and then learn how to use them.  Figuring them out during an emergency is not the best idea.  Why add stress to an already uncomfortable situation. See the Resources Menu to find RECIPES to try.

STARTING, BUILDING, ROTATING your Food Storage

  We have long been encouraged to build an emergency food and survival supply.  This has been taught to  not only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but has been suggested strongly to all residents by the city emergency planning teams throughout the nation.   This may seem like a daunting task to some, but if broken down to reasonable steps, it can be quite easily done.  Some things to consider are to not just stash a bunch of food in your basement or storage area, but to bulk up your pantry with foods you are use to eating.  Kids especially tend to have a hard time adjusting to change during an emergency and suddenly being forced to eat new and sometimes weird foods can just make problems worse.  So, consider having a 3 month supply that includes foods that your family regularly eats, then rotate those foods more often than the items in long term storage in your basement/food storage closet. Visit the  'Resources' ...