September is National Preparedness Month. It's the time designated 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. What is the difference? Well, 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. Just having a bag of flour in our pantry doesn't ensure that it will last the long haul. Most things will only last about a year before they go bad and start causing pest problems in your pantry. In order to make that same 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