Food Storage!!!
In the Church news room on lds.org I found a statment asking that we share any experiances that we have about food storage on our blogs, so here I go.


I’ve heard all of my life that the Prophets have asked that every member of the church have at least a one year supply of food. When Aaron and I were married we decided that we wanted to get our year supply during our first year of marriage, we started to work on this and did pretty well, but never fully got all of it. Over the next couple of years we had our first child, used a lot of our food storage. The only problem was that we had a hard time restocking our shelf like we would have liked to. Although we were doing what we thought was our best we just didn't seem to ever be able to finish it and maintain what we did have.For our Christmas in 2006 my Grandpa and Grandma Simmonds gave everyone in their family a #10 can of food storage with a letter expressing the importance that they felt for each of their family members to follow the council of the prophets and get their food storage. This gave us the push that we needed, they gave us several ways in which to obtain just the basics needed, since my husband and I had already stared to work on our food storage, but had never finished it, this gave us a challenge, but with a date, that date was the April conference of 2007. Aaron and I didn't really have the extra money to just go out and get what we needed, so we changed what we did with our food budget, we decided what food we felt was necessary and important for us to have like fresh veggies and fruit, and even then we cut back, then the rest of our food budget plus any extra that we might have earned we took and stared to accumulate the food that we needed. Since the change that we made in our family food, I had to start making our own bread and cereals again.For our family of four, we found online a list of the basic thing that we would need and this not only included wheat, sugar, rice, beans, dry milk, but also things like Peanut Butter, honey and so on. We were able to call my Grandparents and report that we had meet the goal that they had set for us, and we felt that we would be able to survive on the bare necessities if we had to. Since this time we have tried to get more that just the basics and add in things that would make our food tasty! This includes spices and sauces, canned veggies and fruit, canned meats, along with fun things like cake and muffin mixes.We have now also been counseled by the Church leaders to not only have a One year supply for our families, but to also have a three month supply of things that we use on a daily basis. We stared to work hard right away on this, I was not going to stop until I felt like had all that we need as a family. So I stared by calculating out all the TP that we would use in this time frame I also stocked up on Diapers, cleaning products, trash bags, paper goods and the list goes on and on.I have to say that by doing what we have been asked by the Prophets I have found peace in knowing I have got my one year and a three month supply of food for my family and that we are working on becoming debt free. Over the last year I have still struggled as I have tried to rotate the food and keeping our shelf’s stocked. But I think that my effort is working and I am learning more and more everyday. I am grateful for gospel being taught in my home growing up and that I had the testimony that I needed to follow the Prophets council, concerning food storage. President James E. Faust, once said that "Every father and mother are the family's storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency . . . [and] God will sustain us through our trials." I know that by doing my best that Our Heavenly Father will help my family when that need arises.One last thing that we have been counseled to do so that we can be prepared in a time of need is to be financially prepared, or in other words be Debt Free. As Aaron and I have worked on this we have been so blessed. Aaron’s sister Keely and her husband Tom have played a big role in helping us learn how we can get out of debt, they are always willing to share books, CD’s and advice, we are so grateful for their example and for all that they have done for us. We don’t have everything that we want, but we do have everything that we need. I hope that we will always be able to follow the Prophets council and stay out of debt.President Thomas S. Monson said, we hear: "Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
this is a link to a blog on preparedness- letsbeprepared.blogspot.com

One year food storage for my family of 4

This is what I used when getting our food storage, I stared adding extra stuff that we also use like TP, Paper and plastic goods, ect.

I have also added links on the side that are very helpful in using, storing food storage.

Food Storage Report for the Rogers family
Prepared on 01/29/2007


Number of months
12
Number of family members
4
GROUP 1: GRAINS
Wheat
517 lb.
Enriched white flour
49 lb.
Corn meal
101 lb.
Rolled oats
121 lb.
Enriched white rice
225 lb.
Pearled barley
9 lb.
Spaghetti or macaroni
111 lb.

GROUP 2: LEGUMES
Dry beans
180 lb.
Dry lima beans
8 lb.
Dry soy beans
8 lb.
Dry split peas
8 lb.
Dry lentils
8 lb.
Dry soup mix
28 lb.

GROUP 3: FATS AND OILS
Cooking oil
19 q.
Shortening
8 q.
Mayonnaise
4 q.
Salad dressing(mayonnaise type)
4 q.
Peanut butter
4 q.
GROUP 4: MILK GROUP
Nonfat dry milk
56 lb.
Evaporated milk
48 12-oz can

GROUP 5: SUGARS
Granulated sugar
160 lb.
Brown sugar
12 lb.
Molasses
4 lb.
Honey
12 lb.
Corn syrup
12 lb.
Jams or preserves
19 lb.
Powdered fruit drink
24 lb.
Flavored gelatin
4 lb.

GROUP 6: MISCELLANEOUS
Salt
32 lb.
Dry yeast
2 lb.
Baking soda
4 lb.
Baking powder
4 lb.
Water
56 gal.

Fruits and vegetables in any form would enhance the nutritional value of this diet.


Apple Slices
Hot Cocoa Mix
Pudding, Vanilla
Beans, Great Northern
Macaroni
Soup Mix
Beans, Pink
Milk, Non-fat Dry
Spaghetti
Beans, Pinto
Oats, Rolled
Sugar
Beans, Refried
Onions, Dry
Wheat
Carrots
Potatoes
White Flour
Fruit Drink Mix
Pudding, Chocolate
White Rice

I recently added a new link to a great prepardness blog. It is the safely gathered in link. I hope that all you readers enjoy! If anyone has any other links that go along with preparedness let me know, and I would love to add them to help when working on food storage.

Lay Up in Store

I think that this talk has some good things for us to apply to our lives. This talk was given in the April Conference 2007, I have only included part of the talk.

Lay Up in Store
Bishop Keith B. McMullin

Lay up in store. Wives are instrumental in this work, but they need husbands who lead out in family preparedness. Children need parents who instill in them this righteous tradition. They will then do likewise with their children, and their stores will not fail.
A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life. Remember these words from Paul: "If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
Seated before us are the three presiding high priests who constitute the First Presidency of the Church.
From President James E. Faust, Second Counselor, we hear: "Every father and mother are the family's storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency . . . [and] God will sustain us through our trials."
From President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor, we hear: "Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food . . . and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
From President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Lord's prophet, we hear:
"The best place to have some food set aside is within our homes. . . .
"We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. . . . I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all.
"Begin in a small way, . . . and gradually build toward a reasonable objective."
Inspired preparation rests on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and a provident lifestyle. Members should not go to extremes, but they should begin.
We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life. Please see to it that those entrusted to your watchcare receive these two pamphlets entitled All Is Safely Gathered In. Exhort them to prepare now for rainy days ahead.
Priesthood leaders, enlist the Relief Society in promoting family preparedness and homemaking. The women of the Church need your backing and will respond to your leadership.
Encourage our members to regularly put into their home storage a few wholesome, basic food items and some water that is safe to drink. They should save some money, if only a few coins each week. This modest approach will soon enable them to have several months' reserve. Over time they can expand these modest efforts into a longer-term supply by adding such essentials as grains, legumes, and other staples that will keep them alive in case they do not have anything else to eat.
As we do our very best, we can be confident that "the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail."We shall enjoy greater wisdom, security, peace of mind, and personal well-being. We shall be prepared, and because we are prepared, we "shall not fear."

The Church Made this Statment earlier this week!

Church Public Affairs is asking Church members to share their experiences with maintaining and utilizing food storage by posting video, text or other content on personal blogs, video-sharing sites like YouTube, social media sites like Facebook, or other Internet sites. Members can then e-mail a link to their story to publicaffairs-slc@ldschurch.org. The Newsroom site may link to some of them in an upcoming Web package on the Church welfare program, but in any case the stories may be beneficial to others who read them on the Web.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long encouraged its members to store extra food to provide for possible future needs caused by economic hardship, disasters or other emergencies. Encouraging individual members to be prepared is part of the Church’s overall welfare plan.

I thought that I would put together a little blog with links to places that I have found that help with keeping us motived and working on and mantaining our food storage.