Three month supply

Imagine what it would be like if you couldn't go to the store for three months. What would you eat? What would you feed your family? Maybe the inability to go to the store is caused by something like unemployment, or maybe there is a food shortage caused by a trucking strike or a natural disaster, or a pandemic that keeps you inside your home for a period of time.
How would you get along? Are you prepared?
I think it is very interesting that without any fanfare or big announcement, the LDS church quietly updated the information contained on their web site. In addition to the long standing advice to get a year's supply of food, now there is a specific statement about getting a three month supply of food. It states:

Three-Month Supply

Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. So, what would you need to eat for three months? Last week when we were in AZ, I went with Jordan one morning to help at a ward activity where several people were dry packing food at the home of one of the members. We canned about 70 cans of long term food for Jord's storage program for her family. She is making excellent progress in building her year's supply, with three months of it being foods they eat all the time. We brought the dry pack cans back to her home and boxed them up in boxes that each held six cans. She labeled the boxes and taped them closed so they would slide easily. Then we put about 15-18 boxes under Lauren's bed and the rest she put in a food storage closet. The closet is just a place in her home that she designated as a food storage place where she keeps her three month supply and some of her extended supply. While we were talking about food storage, she had some excellent ideas. The food storage specialist in her ward encouraged her to write out her menus for a week and see what she needed of everything she cooks and uses on a regular basis. Then she told her to multiply it out for twelve weeks to get a calculation of how much to buy for three months. We talked about adapting recipes or coming up with recipes that use canned food or packaged food, cereal, etc. Canned meats could be used instead of fresh meat. Tuna, chicken and even freeze dried meats are available. So, that is my challenge today. Make out a week's worth of menus that your family eats all the time, then times it by 12. Come up with a list of what you would need to by for three months and make up a shopping list on an index card. Put the index card in your purse. The next time you go to the grocery store, buy something extra off your list. Decide on a place in your home where you can put your storage, and when you get home with your groceries, go put the extra items you bought into your three months storage area. Set aside $20 extra a week, then build gradually. If you have more, build quickly, but BUY WHAT YOU USE AND USE WHAT YOU BUY!!! Work on your three month plan first, before working on the longer term storage or other non-food storage items. Here are some items I have on my three month list: peanut butter, jelly, pineapple, mandarin oranges, cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, pinto beans, refried beans, kidney beans, corn, green beans, applesauce, chicken, tuna, pancake mix, cooked cream of wheat, cracked wheat, oatmeal, pancake syrup, chili, dry soap mix, oil, honey, cake mix, frosting, canned pumpkin, powdered sugar, brown sugar, regular sugar, flour, pasta, spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, mayo, mustard, soy, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, yeast, pudding mixes, powdered milk, baking powder, soda, salt, wheat germ, shortening, tomato juice, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, condensed milk, peaches, pears, olives, mac and cheese mixes, rice, pasta noodles, potato pearls, hot cocoa, corn meal, drink mixes, stove top, spaghettios , egg noodles, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, molasses, cold cereal, canned soup, salad dressing, salsa, chips, granola bars, sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, Pam spray, instant flavored oatmeal, crackers.....on and on.... Get started this week. Get a notebook or a clip board or binder. Make it your three month food storage planning guide. Calculate out what you need for the number of people in your family. Make a list on your computer and save it so that you can update it periodically. Make a list of what you need to buy and the next time you go to the store, buy something to add to your storage!!! Record it in your binder. Watch the ads and buy things when they are on sale. I built my storage very quickly this way, by buying a whole case of whatever was on special that week. Happy shopping!