Food Storage - Disaster Prep

A few things that we've done that vary depending on what type of disaster there is.  We bought a fire box that we keep all our passports, ss cards, CDs of pictures,  important papers.  Also I put together two backpacks that are ready to grab and go.  Put a wad of cash in there in small numbers - ones and fives.  Also the usual stuff including food and water.  The canned goods I buy what we like and then at conference, if you haven't heard this already, at general conference once a year I pull the cans and replace if the dates are getting close and swap for whats in the cupboard.  Ummmm also do the water in the 2 liter bottles everywhere.  Also, I made a binder at relief society that's an emergency binder.  I keep it in the backpack but it has sections of what to do in certain disasters - fires, earthquakes, floods, etc. to survive.  That's kind of cool but most importantly we have photo copies of all our important things like drivers licence, credit cards, passports, medical cards, etc.  in the binder in a ziploc bag to keep them dry.  I also wrote down allergies for each of us, full names, birthdates, and recent pictures of each of us that way if we get separated we have pictures of each other to ask around.   We also bought a small battery charger thing that we keep in Dave's car.  You can jumpstart the car without another car, but can also use it for emergencies.  Have to charge it once a year.  Anyway those are all the things we've done. 

Wow, Jodi will you make that stuff for me?  Go to the church cannery and you can get everything and can it in #10 cans-perfect size--rice, wheat, milk, dried fruits, eggs, wheat, sugar, flour, oatmeal, beans, etc.  Only can what you will eat.  I have one backpack like Jodi.  I have my bottles of water but never change them except when I move.  I think having the propane stove is the way to go instead of charcoal.  Robie said since I gave her that nice expensive rice cooker she can use any kind of cheap rice and it comes out like the Jasmine--no good without electricity though. Cash is a must. 

I have started working on our year food supply.  It's my understanding that they are saying you need a year supply of long term food like rice, wheat, sugar,  milk, flour, beans, etc.  and then a 3 months supply of pantry type food. (the foods you eat everyday)  My cousin made an excel spread sheet that you enter the ages of the people in your family and it figures out how much of each food you would need for a year.  The church recommends so much of each food in weight.  It's kind of fun cause as you buy stuff you can enter it and it does all the math for you.  She has already put in the weight of each #10 can so you just enter how many you bought.  I have started going to the church canery once a month because my goal is to have a year supply by the end of the year.  I figured it out that it will cost $100 a month to do that.  The church canery is pretty cheap and fun to do if you go with people you know.  I have the spreadsheet if anyone wants me to email it to them.  I bought 4 blue barrels to store my water in.  I'm going to buy 2 more and that will be enough for a 2 week supply of water for my family and that is what the church recommends.  I still need to get 72 hour kits and I've been wanting to do the ID thing like Jodi did but I just haven't done it.

In an emergency, I'll just be heading to Sean & Robie's.

I always like the 30 tons of wheat we had around the house.  We used the cans for shelving and to hold up beds and just to spice up the house square metal can decor.  I mean really, what are you going to do with wheat????  Poor some into a bowl and eat it with a spoon or what?

hahhahah good one Charlotte.  Hey Robie send me that spreadsheet would ya?  Sounds really cool.  We had a wheat night for Young Womens in Denver a while back.  There were like 4 things to do with wheat.  Make bread, sprout it, or grind it?  Can't remember but I wasn't a believer in wheat until then. 

You grind the wheat and make flour or cook it and eat it as cereal.  I used to grind my wheat into flour with the electric grinder and use it in bread and make whole wheat pancakes with a little wheat germ in them.  You can sprout it and use it in salads.  You can make gluten out of it and substitute it for meat in chili or casseroles.  You can make beer with it.

Did Sean really ask that, what do you do with wheat?  He's the one that made bread at home a few months ago.  Unless he was lying.  He probably bought it at the store. 

Good job Jodi, sounds like you're ready for a Nuclear attack.

we have lots of propane cannisters, and our campstove.  bottled water in 2-liters hidden around the house.  blankets, sweatshirts, backpacks.  and about 800 cans of soda in the garage.  and i also have a big jug of gas, in case i need to mow my lawn.

Sure I made bread with flour but that's just one ingredient.  Why have tons of wheat for flower if you're not going to have any eggs or milk or the rest of the stuff to go with it?

or syrup.  what good is a wheat pancake.

You buy powdered eggs and powdered milk and water and sugar and mapeline

Sean....   flower or did you mean flour?

ummmm, i just live in america where I know my govt will take good care of me in the event of any natural disasters.

Sounds like we got lots of food being saved in the family!  Great - we have all kinds of bottled water plus a big white plastic 55-gal barrel with water!  Maybe we ought to change the water as it's been in the basement for quite some time!  If you want to see the epitome of being prepared, come up and see our basement!!  Dear grandma has got oodles of stuff! 

Jay, you mean like after Katrina?  Sad to think all of their stored wheat was flooded.

wow... jodi and robie..thats great!..i am going to start. I have a yellow post-it here that says disastaer/insurance/firebox. It's been on this stickie since last summer........ill try to finish mine by end of april. hahaha

Thanks for the motivation!

 

umm....I need help. I don't have anything. No first-aid kit, no extra food. Jodi and Robie send me some stuff! =) I guess this'll be my next project for the home.

Hey Spongin - so hard when you don't want to move a bunch of stuff while your still mobile.  But just dive in because Dave and I are still mobile after four years.  Anyway- the water is the easiest and most important, so start with that I'd say.

Alesha, I think you get a free pass for now, I remember being told at BYU that students did not need to worry about emergency supplies - the university has them for all the students and they didn't want you to worry about expense and storage space for them. Now, once you leave Provo, then you're on your own :-)

We have pretty good 72-hours kits, emergency supplies, and a couple big barrels of water. Still need to work on the full year's supply of food, though.

Awww that is nice of BYU.  Never knew that.

Yeah, I actually remember that too.  All the BYU students are taken care of.  Lucky!

SWEET!   i havent graduated yet!  ! !!

Me either--so we are set, Geoff.

But Geoff and Valorie, I think you have to move to Provo first. Otherwise they won't be able to get your supplies to you :-)

Yea Geoff, I think your last known residence they have on file is 1234 AKQJ10 st in Wendover.  JK, it's actually my address... they keep sending all kinds of garbage for you to come back and learn something.

oh, Scotty, you bring back memories for me too --- when I had that bad influence little brother living with us in Springville (well, you guess which one) we would often go over to Wendover for a little weekend fun.  Greg would stay in the car with Baby Britty while I would go in and earn the rent money --- ring any bells, Brandt?  I learned my best gaming skills at the feet of the master, so I felt obligated to retire from that sport when he did....

Back on the topic at hand, however, the potato pearls are the best stuff you can put in the No. 10 cans at the dry pack cannery....we could live on those if we had to.  About the wheat - my ward is definitely of the opinion that you should store what you eat, and if we all had to suddenly start living on the hard, red, wheat we would have serious intestinal problems, so to be realistic, make sure you get some chocolate chips and M & M's into those mylar sealed bags.....in times of emergency it's best to keep everyone calm, and the only way to do that is with chocolate!

Shelley, I learned something new about you today! Ha Ha! I can just see Greg hanging out in the car with Baby Britty...

hahahah Shelley??!! I want to hear more of that gambling-for-rent-money story.  That's hilarious.  As for the wheat, yes, if you suddenly started eating that constantly you'd probably feel like dying.  So have to make sure you balance everything.  I LOVE the potato pearls in the #10 can.  We eat those and the rice quite often.  I hear they were thinking about doing away with the potato pearls. Is that true?? better stock up.

Wonder what the % of BYU students pay their rent using Wendover earnings.

ahahah, wow shelley.  that made my month.   i'd rather not think of Wendover, commonly referred to as Bendover, by me and my college crew of losers.  i have such a pathetic story of that city that will never be documented on turtlefox. 

Yeah, cause you don't want your mom to know most of what I already know.

Shelly..  did you ever loose your rent money because if you won everytime that would be a great full time job!!  I have been to Windover once.  It was fun because I wasn't 21 one yet!!  Isn't the gambling age 19 there?  They are not doing away with the potatoe pearls you just can't can them in the #10 cans anymore.  You have to buy them in two big pouches and they only last 2 years.  The potatoe flakes you can put in the #10 cans and they last 30 years.

AND you don't have to pay tithing on it.

Hmmm I'll have to try the potato flakes.  I bet they don't taste as good as the pearls.  Sad.

Geoff

We would love to hear the stories.... They can not be that bad...

I don't know about Shelley's stories, but I've heard some of Brandt's. He did tell me once that after spending the gas money to get to Wendover and back, plus the driving time and time spent in the casino, he probably would have made more money with a minimum wage job at McDonald's. But where's the challenge in that?

okay, just to clarify the chain of comments here - I'm pretty sure Valorie is not telling us we don't have to pay tithing on the potato pearls....and I just want to remind everyone that Brittany is now 21 years old, so my escapades are way in my past.....and yes, I did win everytime, because Greg monitored me.  He would only give me $10 to play with and every few minutes he came by my table and took my winnings so that I could only bet $10 at a time,  It was a long, conservative evening to make the $265 but we did do it more than once....been repenting ever since.....I only knew how to play 21, never do the slots or roulette or anything complicated....

uhhh, where was Brittany when Greg came by the table to monitor?  just wondering.... :)

Does Brittany go to Wendover?

No, Brittany doesn't go to Wendover - and Scott - I completely can't remember what we did with Brittany when Greg cruised by the table - I think he had her hanging over his arm....maybe Brandt remembers?

No, Brittany doesn't go to Wendover - and Scott - I completely can't remember what we did with Brittany when Greg cruised by the table - I think he had her hanging over his arm....maybe Brandt remembers?

Yes I really did worry about Brandt and Wendover since Dad's Uncle Jens was a proffessional card playing gambler .  I neer knew Shelley went to Wendover.  Get to know some well hidden secrets on TF. I was afraid Brandt might never be able to shake the gambling bug but he really seems to hate it now.  As for me one time we went to some little town just over the border of Nevada from Twin Falls with Roland and  /elearnor.  Roland handed me a roll of nickles to play the slots.  When he saw that I had put the roll in my pocket and had no intentions of playing he threatened to take the roll away.  I did finally put some of it into the slots but I still kept most of it in my pocket.  I know I am a miser but I like a sure thing.   

I store water not only in the 55 gal. container but a really easy way to build up your water storage is this.  When you empty an apple juice, grape juice etc. container.  Run it through the dishwasher.  Be sure it is completely dry.  Then fill it with water.  If you need to use it in an emergency it could be brought to a boil if it had been stored for quite a while so it would be good for drinking but it is great to wash dishes oresands and faces.  Believe my I was glad i had the water saved in empty canning jars in the 1971 Earthquake in California.  Best thing for heat I agree is to have a coleman stove and a lot of propane cylinders.  Of course it is nice to have a flat topped wood stove like we have too.

Gambling in Wendover??!  Who started that rumor?  I was very busy in Provo with studying and keeping Troy out of trouble.