Food Storage

As a Mormon we are instructed to keep an emergency supply of food. I know the first thing everyone thinks of is the survivalist bunker full of MRE's, but it doesn't have to be that way (unless of course you really like MRE's). What we do is have enough of our staples (flour,pasta, beans,sugar, canned goods including canned meat) to use, and for a year, and when we buy groceries we rotate from our storage space to pantry. You need to make sure you have a variety for a couple of reasons, first is shear boredom, but the more important especially with flour, is that we develop a sensitivity to gluten (if you don't already have it 1 in 100 people is suspected of having a sensitivity). You also need to keep some basic spices in your storage (mine are salt, pepper, garlic, and cumin). You also need a method of heating whatever you are going to use. A cheap camp grill, and a bag of charcoal is great to have, plus keep a lighter with it, just be sure to check them periodically, or you may find when they are needed most they won't work. Don't forget your sweet tooth either, gelatin stores well, and a treat always feels better. Now back to MRE's, there are many places that have very good freeze dried foods that don't taste like freeze dried foods. Make sure you have water as well, we have bottled water delivered, and always keep a couple extra bottles (20 gallons or so).  I keep some powdered milk in my food storage, as well as instant potatoes, they don't taste as good as fresh, but they work when you can't get fresh. You will also need some form of cooking oil, or shortening, as well as sugar or honey. Rice is another item that is easy to store and makes a basic meal. Don't forget all those preserves Great Aunt Marguerite made you either. There are many other things you can store, it's really up to you, and what you would eat, there is no sense storing something that you'll never use. Also be sure to have adequate storage containers, they need to be airtight, and some items fair better if kept from light.

Here are a couple of links for information:
http://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/06/home-storage-build-on-the-basics?lang=eng

This place sent me some samples, and the food was awesome:
http://www.wisefoodsupply.com/?gclid=CLjS3YWoka4CFcqf7QodKVs8fA

This one has a list of gluten free items:
http://www.augasonfarms.com/


Remember food storage isn't just about the end of the world, it could be just a power outage, or a storm. It could even be a financial issue, something happens where you don't have income, you'll be happy to have food so you can worry about all the other things that go with that.