Food storage is a big concept, and a very personal one. But also an important one, because whether your a family of nine with two incomes and a big house or a student couple living in a shoe-box, we all have emergencies. Maybe someday it'll be that big blizzard. But sometimes it's things like having an unexpected car repair that cleans out your slush fund. Whatever brings on your rainy day, it's always nice to have some cushion to brighten things up.
Our goal is to help each family develop the habit of constantly building food storage; whether it makes sense for you to build up food for a year or can barely fit in food for a month, we want to help. In an effort to work towards our goal together but also according to our own individual needs, we will be posting a food storage prompt every month to keep the subject fresh in your mind.
The idea here is that every family determine a certain, consistent, amount (be it $2 or $20) to be spent on food storage every week. I pick an item every week and buy as much of it as my predetermined amount of cash will buy. I came up with a rotation that I'll be sharing with you: first week is carbs, second week: protein, third week: fruit, fourth week: veggie, fifth week: surprise! I'll post the items according to their rotation along with a recipe featuring one of our key ingredients. Remember to buy what you'll eat, and eat what you buy, my prompts are just suggestions! With that in mind, all my prompts are things that get worked into our (the Wilde family's) regular menu. I won't do things like 500 lbs of flour. However, if you're starting from absolute scratch and would like to get a jump on things, here's a couple ideas of where to begin:
Basics: Everything you'd get on your first trip to the grocery store after moving to a new home---flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, yeast, oil, shortening, spices, vanilla, vinegar, etc. Make sure you have a comfortable store of everything you'd just assume you had on hand when reading a new recipe. Plus some bottled water. Ideally, buy in January and replenish as needed or whenever items are on sale.
Storm food: Three days worth of food you could eat with little to no prep (like, straight outta the can :) ) in the event of a power outage, major blizzard, ridiculous illness, etc. Canned soups, fruit, veggies, baked beans, tuna, powdered milk, juice, etc. Anything that might be tricky to live without if housebound i.e. toilet paper, diapers, wipes, feminine sanitary products, basic medicines (tylenol, benedryl including infant or child varieties) Plus a few comforts like cocoa, candy, gum. Have on hand throughout the winter and replenish as used. *
*Carolyn Nielsen has a great plan for this specific kind of emergency prep documented. That information can be made available upon request I'm sure.
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