GARLAND 4th WARD PREPARE NOW NEWSLETTER

Issue 5

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“With revelation and prophecy as our guide, I think….we have hardly enough time to prepare! We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves, and take care of our own needs. And so we encourage our people to plan ahead, keep food on hand, and to establish a savings account, if possible, against a rainy day.”

President Gordon B. Hinckely: Ensign, November 1996, pg 50

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Seven Major Mistakes in Food Storage

By Vicki Tate There are seven serious problems that may occur trying to live on the basics: 1. Variety - Most people don't have enough variety in their storage. 95% of people have only stored the four: wheat, milk, honey, and salt. Statistics show most of us won't survive on such a diet for several reasons. a. Many people are allergic to wheat and may not be aware of it until they are eating it meal after meal. b. Wheat is too harsh for young children. They can tolerate it in small amounts but not as a main staple. c. We get tired of eating the same foods over & over & we prefer to not eat, than to sample that particular food again. This is appetite fatigue. Store less wheat than is suggested & put the difference into a variety of other grains, like ones your family likes to eat. Store a variety of beans. This adds color, texture & flavor. Variety is key to a successful storage program. Store flavorings such as tomato, bouillon, cheese, & onion. Include a supply of spices you like to cook with. These flavorings & spices allow you to do many creative things with your grains and beans. Without them you are severely limited.

2. Extended Staples - Few people get beyond storing the four basic items but it's extremely important that you do so. Never put "all your eggs in one basket." Store dehydrated and/or freeze dried foods as well as home canned & "store bought" canned goods. Be sure to add cooking oil, shortening, baking powder, soda, yeast & powdered eggs. You can't cook even the most basic recipes w/out these. Items that should be included in a well-balanced storage program are included in the "The New Cookin With Home Storage" cookbook.

3. Vitamins - Vitamins are important, especially if you have children, since children don’t store body reserves of nutrients as adults do. A good quality multi-vitamin & vitamin C most vital. Others might be added as your budget permits. 4. Quick and Easy and "Psychological Foods" - Quick & easy foods help you through times when you are physically/ psychologically unable to prepare your basic storage items. "No cook" foods such as freeze-dried are wonderful since they require little preparation. MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat), like many preparedness outlets carry, canned goods, etc. are also very good. "Psychological Foods" are the 'goodies' like Jello, pudding, candy, etc. you should add to your storage. These may sound frivolous, but through the years many people who have lived entirely on their storage for extended periods of time say these were the most helpful items in their storage to "normalize" their situations and make it more bearable.

Items to consider for April Purchases: *Extra grains, beans & rice added to your long term supply. *Bottle water and/or 1 or 5 gallon water containers. *Set aside at least $5 cash every payday in your house NOT the bank. *Keep your vehicle gas tank ½ full & fill up a 5 gallon gas can to store (add a product to prolong shelf life). *When shopping for groceries buy extra items to help build your EXTREMLY IMPORTANT 3 MONTH SUPPLY OF EVERY DAY ITEMS. *BIG ITEM: *72 hour kit: *Plus whatever else you fell inspired to do for your family’s needs *Have you been to the Temple this month? *

5. Balance - Time & time again families have bought all of their wheat, then all of another item & so on. Don't do that. It's important to keep well-balanced as you build your storage. Buy

several items, rather than large quantities of one item. You’ll fare much

better having one month supply of a variety of items than a year's supply

of two or three items.

6. Containers: Always store bulk foods in food storage containers. Tons

and tons of food has been thrown away because they were left in sacks,

where they are highly susceptible to moisture, insects, and rodents. If you

are using plastic buckets make sure they are lined with a food grade plastic

 liner available from companies that carry packaging supplies.  Never use

trash can liners. These are treated w/pesticides. Don't stack too high. In an

earthquake they may topple, lids pop open, or crack. A better container is

the #10 tin.

7. Use Your Storage - One of the biggest problems is people storing

food & not knowing what to do w/it. It's vital that you & your family

become familiar with the things you are storing. You need to know how

to prepare these foods. You don’t want to have to learn this under stress.

Your family needs to be used to eating these foods. A stressful period is

not a good time to totally change your diet. Get a good food storage

cookbook and learn to use these foods! It's easy to solve the food storage

problems once you know what they are.